Seminole County economic development team outlines jobs, incentives, incubators and workforce plans

Seminole County economic development staff on Tuesday told the Board of County Commissioners that the county’s economy is led by professional, scientific and technical services and that a small share of larger employers produce the bulk of jobs and wages.

The presentation, led by Guy Cunha, director of Economic Development and Tourism, summarized employment and wage trends, incentive programs, incubators and workforce initiatives and described recent operational changes to the county’s Industrial Development Authority.

The briefing matters because county economic development strategy determines where the county directs incentives, workforce funding and marketing to attract and retain employers that affect local jobs and tax revenue.

Cunha said Seminole County’s labor force is about 280,000 and the county has more than 20,000 registered businesses. “Ninety percent of our registered businesses in Seminole County have 25 employees or less,” he said, while a small share of larger employers — those with 26 or more employees — account for more than 70% of local employment.

Irma Stegman, business development manager, reviewed large-employer and incentive activity. She said the county’s Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) is performance-based and requires companies to create jobs and hold them for a minimum period; she told the board that roughly 22% of approved county incentives since 2013 have not been fully materialized and therefore did not receive the full award. She also noted Seminole County is finishing payments on a legacy state Qualified Target Industry (QTI) contract, a state incentive that the legislature discontinued in 2020.

Stegman and Cunha highlighted two recent attraction projects the county tracks through its regional partner, the Orlando Economic Partnership: “Project Hub,” a BNY Mellon expansion in Lake Mary reported at about 1,100 jobs and high average wages; and “Project Pencil,” an approved JGI project tied to Exam Room AI, estimated at 250 jobs.

Esteban Sandariaga, business marketing manager, described incubators and small-business supports, saying the county is expanding “soft landing” services for international companies and that a Seminole State College Heathrow lease starting May 1 will house five soft-landing firms. He also said Seminole State’s “Seminole State Commits” program has assisted about 300 residents and produced roughly 40 workshops and courses aimed at employability skills.

The board heard that the county brought management of the Seminole County Industrial Development Authority (SCIDA) in-house in October and that the authority’s most recent transaction generated the first direct revenue to the county after years of fees being paid to a regional partner. Staff said the county plans targeted marketing for industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) and will pursue trade publications and site-selectors to promote IRB use for larger capital projects.

Commissioners used the presentation to press staff on accountability. Commissioner Lockhart asked for proof that county-funded workforce programs and incentivized projects are actually hiring Seminole County residents, including how many employees work on-site versus remotely and how many hires were produced from local schools and Seminole State College. “I’m not voting to give you any money anymore until you give me the answer,” Lockhart said.

Other commissioners praised staff work and requested follow-up analyses on retention — how long incentive-supported businesses remain in the county — and whether outreach could keep companies from departing to neighboring jurisdictions.

Staff identified several follow-up directions: prioritize local-hire commitments in soft-landing agreements, provide final program reports for the Public Sector Academy and Seminole State workforce efforts in the fall, and produce additional data on where incentive-funded jobs are filled (local hires versus remote or out-of-county employees). No formal board action was required at the end of the presentation.

The presentation included data sources and caveats: employment and wage figures were drawn from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages and commercial business datasets; staff noted some employer counts are rounded and that multi-site retail employers’ employee totals are reported across many facilities.

Looking ahead, Cunha said the county will continue to market IRBs, expand soft-landing capacity and coordinate with regional partners to pursue high‑wage headquarters and manufacturing projects.