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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-14-038 - City of Kitchener - Waterloo Regin Small Business Centre - Agreement with the Province of Ontario Staff Report rTC.�r R finance and Corporate Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: September 8, 2014 SUBMITTED BY: Chris Farrell, Manager, Small Business Centre, 519 7412200 ext. 7294 PREPARED BY: Chris Farrell, Manager, 519 7412200 ext. 7294 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: August 21, 2014 REPORT NO.: CAO- 14- 038 SUBJECT: CITY OF KITCHENER -WATERLOO REGION SMALL BUSINESS CENTRE—AGREEMENT WITH THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO RECOMMENDATION: That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to sign a three year funding agreement, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor, with the Province of Ontario to deliver Small Business Enterprise Centre services through the City of Kitchener Waterloo Region Small Business Centre. BACKGROUND: The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre (WRSBC) under the Economic Development Division of the City of Kitchener was established in 1999 as one of 57 Province of Ontario's Small Business Enterprise Centres, funded by the Province. The Centre provides information, workshops, events, guidance and consultation on a variety of issues to entrepreneurs in all industry sectors and at all stages of business from startup to expansion. The businesses are primarily traditional and main street ventures having fewer than 5 employees. WRSBC Annual funding sources include: • The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation • The Region of Waterloo • The Cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo • Other sources of revenue include: Sponsorships, Projects/Programs and Event Fees The City of Kitchener's Waterloo Region Small Business Centre currently operates with 3.5 Full time employees and holds meetings six times a year with a volunteer Board of 4 - 1 Advisors consisting of 10 local business professionals and funders. The centre has a network of over 100 volunteers supporting programs and events offered in the community. Annually, the Centre responds to over 15,000 inquiries, 1,200 one-on-one consultations, assists 440 new startups creating over 650 jobs, facilitates over 150 workshops and hosts up to 20 events. The Centre also delivers entrepreneurial programs supporting newcomers and youth providing training, mentoring and opportunities for individuals to become job creators instead of job seekers. For example; the Summer Company program has assisted 227 students age 15-29 to start and run a summer business over the past 11 years. Newcomer training and outreach has engaged over 600 New Canadians to learn about starting a business in Canada. The organization is dedicated to diligent fiscal practises and operations management, and has operated in a small surplus for over 5 years. The City of Kitchener (Waterloo Region Small Business Centre) has received funding from the Province of Ontario since 2000. Each year for the past 5 years the Province has maintained an annual contribution of $173,000.00 for the core services. The new agreement with the Province will provide funding of $520,656.90 over 3 years. This is a change in the previous agreement which was an Annual "Fees for Services Agreement" to the new 3-yr "Transfer Payment Agreement" 2014 — 2017. These funds support the core services of the Centre to provide important resources to entrepreneurs and businesses in the local municipality and the surrounding region. The core activities and services are expected to result in the establishment of new businesses, the expansion of existing businesses and job retention by addressing issues relating to barriers to business start-up, growth and job retention. The Provincial funds support 2.0 FTE wages and benefits, direct costs to deliver 5 events per year and to participate in two annual provincial conferences. The FTE positions include a Business Advisor (.75), Program Assistant (.75), and Business Information Clerk (.50). The budget also outlines other overhead expenses offset by revenue generated from municipal and regional government, private sector sponsorships, fees for services, events, special projects and in-kind contributions from municipalities and private sector. The Centre provides the Province of Ontario with monthly and annual reports and will submit a Final Report and Audit Report by June 2017, to report the business activities and audit for the 3-yr period of the agreement. REPORT: ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN: The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre aligns its goals with the City of Kitchener Economic Development Strategy 2011-2015. Kitchener is a great place to start a business with the best programs, facilities and community support for business owners. 4 - 2 In the strategy under Community Context 2.Entrepreneurial Spirit, it is stated, "Entrepreneurship and innovation have always been traits of our city". There is a critical need to attract and retain talent, support entrepreneurship and small enterprise during early stages of startup. The services offered by the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre ensures all citizens have access to explore business ideas and support to implement viable and sustainable business ventures. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: NONE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Entrepreneurship and innovation contributes to economic growth in the community. The Centre provides programs and services that support and compliment other community entrepreneurial initiatives essential to the commercialization of small business as a collaborative partner in within this ecosystem. INFORM — The Province (Ministry of Research and Innovation) will announce the funding agreements to Municipalities with Small Business Enterprise Centres once the agreements have been signed. COLLABORATE — The City of Kitchener — Waterloo Region Small Business Centre communicates, consults and collaborates with a broad range of community groups, organizations, agencies, secondary and post-secondary institutes, municipal, regional and provincial governments to ensure the entrepreneurial services and programs address the needs of small business in the community. The volunteers for the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre and the Board of Advisors are representative of these community groups. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Must be the CAO or a Deputy CAO FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, CAO 4 - 3