Calling All Business Owners!

The City of Monrovia will be hosting a Business Seminar Series on the Affordable Healthcare Act.

It will discuss in depth how the Affordable Healthcare Act will affect you and your business.

Our featured speaker is, George N. Papacalos, the Regional Sales Executive for Kaiser Permanente. 

•             Wednesday, August 7, 2013: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

•             Monrovia Public Library, 321 S. Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia, CA

•             Hosted lunch provided by Café Mundial

•             RSVP by August 5th : Korrine  Ramirez; 626.358.1159 or kr@monroviacc.com.

We would love for you to join us

Monrovia City Manager Talks Business

  Relationship building and business retention.

Monrovia City Manager Laurie Lile, right, is joined by

Pasadena City Manager Michael Beck and Duarte Deputy 

City Manager Karen Hererra on Thursday at the 

Foothill WIB's board meeting.

Those will be the two leading priorities of the City of Monrovia's Economic Development efforts in the coming years, said Monrovia City Manager Laurie Lile during her presentation at the Foothill Workforce Investment Board's quarterly meeting.

Ms. Lile presented alongside Pasadena City Manager Michael Beck and Duarte Deputy City Manager Karen Hererra during a panel discussion on "Partnering with Economic Development: Creating the Workforce Advantage."

For Monrovia, the community and City Council has concluded during the PlanMonrovia Strategic Planning Process that one of the City's six priorities in the next five years should be Economic Development. Specifically, these actions:







According to Ms. Lile, retention and growth efforts have moved forward in large part through the Business Visits that have targeted Old Town Businesses and top employers. And as far as building relationships - this will be critical in helping to identify need by our local businesses and finding the appropriate resources to meet these needs.

Among the organizations that the City will focus its efforts on include businesses, brokers and economic development organizations such as the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Foothill Workforce Investment Board, and the San Gabriel Valley Partnership, just to name a few.

While redevelopment dollars may have disappeared, the need for attracting businesses, and retaining and growing our existing workforce remains more important than ever.

Sales Tax Revenues Up in Monrovia

Sales tax revenues are on the rise in Monrovia, according to the Mid-Year Budget Review presented to the Monrovia City Council last week. The final sales tax numbers for 2010-11 were 8.5 percent greater than compared to the previous year. The increase can be attributed to a bump in auto sales and from revenue generated by new retail stores such as Living Spaces and Paul's TV, both of which opened in late 2009.

According to the Report, which takes a look at the status of current expenditures and revenues coming in and out of the City:

Sales Tax – The final sales tax numbers for 2010-11 came in at $7,833,616, which was an 8.5% increase over the prior year. This increase included one-time increases due to having a full twelve months of revenue from retail stores Living Spaces and Paul’s TV, which were not included in 2009-10 sales tax numbers. But even then, sales tax activity is showing strong signs of recovery. Revenue from auto sales and leasing are strong again, after two years of huge decreases. Building and construction activity is still flat, as the housing market muddles through more foreclosures and high unemployment. For 2011-12, the current budget is $8,252,502. This anticipated a 5% growth over the prior year. Projecting an 8% growth now will generate an additional $151,859 of revenue.

The trend follows regional and national reports that the economy is in recovery.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the number of U.S. workers seeking unemployment benefits this month is well below the figure compared to a year ago.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported earlier this month that retail and food services sales were up 6.7 percent in November compared to a year ago, with the largest increase coming from auto sales.

And the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) stated in its Mid-Year Economic Forecast that retail sales would continue to grow -- though the recovery for housing, lease rates, and local government finance is another story, according to the LAEDC.

Monrovia is a Finalist for the Most Business Friendly City Award

Los Angeles County’s leading advocate for economic development announced Tuesday that Monrovia is among the five finalists in its category for the 2011 “Most Business Friendly City” Award.

Monrovia is competing against Commerce, Duarte, Gardena and La Mirada in the category of cities with a population of 60,000 or less for the award presented by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. For populations 60,000 and higher, the finalists are Burbank, Carson, Glendale, Torrance, West Covina and Whittier, according to the LAEDC Press Release.

“We are pleased to be named as a finalist for this award. Certainly our business community believes we are the most business friendly,” Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said. “It is gratifying to see the judges concur.”

This is the third time that Monrovia has been nominated for the annual award. Monrovia was a finalist in 2010 and 2008. City officials and members of the business community are hoping that “this is the year,” especially considering the recent advancements in Monrovia’s economic and redevelopment strategies. Read more.

Staff members attribute the Online Business Resource Center and Economic
Development Action Plan as possible reasons for the recent nomination.      

What Businesses Do You Want?

At the Monrovia Area Partnership Walnut Avenue block party on Aug. 20, the Redevelopment/Economic Development (R/ED) Team asked attendees what types of businesses they want to see in town.

Of the 30 people who voted:

6 want a Bookstore
5 want a Beauty and Make-up Store, such as Bath and Body Works or Aveda
4 want a Housewares Store, such as Cost Plus or Pier One
2 want a Gaming Store, such as EB Gamestore
2 want a National Clothing Store, such as Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters
1 wants a Wine Store, and
10 people wrote in a specific business, which included:

• Whole Foods
• Bob's Big Boy
• See's Candy
• Wal-Mart

Other write-ins included things such as "job producing businesses," "aerospace manufacturing" and an "aquatic center."

Community members ate hot dogs, played a water balloon toss
and visited booths at the Aug. 20 Walnut Avenue block party.

Have more ideas? Contact our R/ED Team at jmclain@ci.monrovia.ca.us. 

Council gives Economic Development Action Plan stamp of approval

Monrovia's first Economic Development Action Plan was approved unanimously by the Monrovia City Council on April 5, 2011. The Plan, prepared by the "R/ED Team" -- which is the City's Redevelopment and Economic Development Team -- focuses on ways to attract, retain and grow local businesses.

Among it's highlights include:

• A Business Retention Strategy that details incentives, outreach and support such as CEO Rountables and a business visitation program.
• A Business Attraction Strategy that includes focusing on four strategic areas of development: Fifth and Huntington, the 300 Block of Old Town, Myrtle and Huntington, and the former Circuit City site.
• A Marketing Strategy that includes adding the Online Business Resource Center.

To read the action plan in full, click here.