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Councilwoman Aileen calls for study to recruit small businesses and curb retail leakage
Summary
The committee asked staff to draft an RFP for a countywide economic development study to map small-business capacity, recommend tools (incentives, loans, grants), and propose strategies to reduce retail leakage; staff said a draft RFP will be provided within two committee meetings.
On July 7, the Richland County Strategic Planning Ad Hoc Committee discussed a motion to commission an economic development study focused on recruiting small businesses, supporting entrepreneurship and reducing retail leakage identified in the comprehensive plan.
Councilwoman Aileen, the motion’s sponsor, said the study should produce a data-driven roadmap: assess existing programs, identify gaps, describe the county’s small-business landscape, and recommend implementable tools such as tax incentives, grants or revolving loans. "The retail leakage was addressed in the comprehensive plan, and I think they estimated that about 418,000,000," she said, urging the committee to consider how to capture economic activity residents currently spend outside the county.
Members asked the RFP to align with the county’s priority investment corridors in the comprehensive plan and suggested the study include marketing strategies and options to retain young entrepreneurs graduating from local colleges. Councilman Livingston and others suggested the RFP present a menu of options and consider incentives to infill commercial corridors.
Director Dreider Green of the Office of Small Business Opportunities said the office is already pursuing district-level analysis, campus outreach for entrepreneurship programming and façade programs. "We too are looking at additional programming that will help recruit small businesses and, of course, make the whole system stronger here," Green said, and cautioned against duplicating current efforts.
Administrator Brown said staff will consolidate today’s feedback, draft scopes and return a draft RFP to the committee within approximately two meetings to avoid duplicating work under way by county departments and partner agencies.
No formal procurement decision was taken at the meeting; members provided direction for staff to prepare RFP drafts reflecting the committee’s priorities.
