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City of Farmers Branch economic development staff introduce team and outreach programs
Summary
Economic development staff introduced new team members and described recent business-retention outreach, incentives and upcoming community events designed to support local businesses and increase sales tax retention.
The City of Farmers Branch economic-development team presented an update March 4 outlining recent business retention visits, incentive activity and upcoming events.
Director of Economic Development Perla Severo introduced staff including Megan Holloway, economic development manager, and Cody Duffy, senior administrator. Severo said the department focuses on business retention and expansion and that roughly 80% of new jobs and capital investment typically come from existing local companies. She said in the past four to five months staff completed 50 business visits and supported ribbon cuttings and grand openings.
Severo described incentives activity: as of July 2024, staff said 19 incentives were approved including demolition-rebuild, façade and headquarters grants, and eight active prospects were under consideration for grants or incentives. Upcoming city-sponsored programs include a Farmers Branch passport to encourage shopping at 20 local businesses, a May 22 networking event with healthcare leaders, a theater production at Firehouse Theater and an October golf tournament.
Staff also said they are increasing LinkedIn presence, formalizing welcome packages for new businesses and collecting business-visit questionnaires to capture needs and expansion intent. No council action was requested; councilmembers thanked staff for the report.
