July 2012 Orange County Connect - State of the County Highlights Our Strong Economy

July 2012

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you enjoyed celebrating Independence Day as much as I did. For me, gathering with family, friends and neighbors evokes feelings of purpose and belonging - a sense of community.

A strong community builds stronger individuals. And so today, I challenge our citizens to give back to the communities that we call home.

In an effort to promote volunteerism and community service throughout Orange County, I launched the Summer of Service initiative in June, a month-long project featuring a variety of events and organizations through which citizens can become involved while serving their community.

From June 16 through July 14, 2012, Orange County residents are asked to volunteer on at least one occasion. Please go to this link to learn more.

As always, I thank you for your continued support and for staying connected with your government.

Sincerely,

Teresa Jacobs

Orange County Mayor

State of the County Highlights Our Strong Economy

On behalf of Orange County Government, I wish to extend my heartfelt appreciation to those who committed to making the 2012 State of Orange County address a grand success.

My remarks highlighted important economic milestones, our vision for the future, and our commitment to fiscal responsibility. In a nutshell, the state of Orange County Government is strong, and our local economy is getting stronger.

The efforts of Orange County staff and the contributions of our sponsors helped make this event a success. Thank you all for making the 2012 State of Orange County so memorable.

Historic Citrus Bowl Agreement Moves Forward

Mayor Buddy Dyer and I sign a football to mark our historic agreement.

The agreement to move forward with renovations at the Citrus Bowl is another example of our ongoing partnership with the City of Orlando. I am supporting several amendments to the Community Venues agreement that will allow the renovations to the Citrus Bowl to start.

Basically, the county's role will be to provide a modest advance of tourist tax dollars - a total of $12.5 million - to act as a secondary reserve fund. For that money to even come into play two things would have to happen. There would have to be insufficient tourist tax dollars to cover the city's debt payments, and the city would have to make a draw on its $25 million reserve fund, which would then be replenished equally by the County's reserve and by the City.

It's important to note that this agreement in no way impacts our planned improvements to the Orange County Convention Center. Our first priority is to protect that $2.2 billion dollar per year asset to our economy.

I congratulate Mayor Dyer for his resolve to see this project through and I hope Florida Citrus Sports now has the resources it needs to compete for major sporting events for years to come.

I intend to present this agreement to our board on July 10, 2012 for their approval and look forward to the groundbreaking.

Annual Hispanic Business & Consumer Expo Energizes Orange County

Orange County Government had a large presence at the
Hispanic Business & Consumer Expo.

In June, I spent some time at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando's 19th Annual Hispanic Business and Consumer Expo at the Orange County Convention Center. The expo was created to strengthen economic development and community integration between businesses and the Hispanic community in our region.

I also had the pleasure of speaking at the chamber's job fair event during the expo.

More than 250 exhibitors displayed their products and services to the Central Florida community at the event. The Hispanic Business & Consumer Expo is recognized as one of the largest nationwide business expos targeting the Hispanic market in the nation.

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Budget Work Sessions Start July 16

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners will hold a series of work sessions the week of July 16, 2012, to explore our budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2012.

I am pleased to present a proposed budget that ensures our important services are effectively delivered to citizens without raising taxes.

You may want to tune into Orange TV for an overview of our budget on Monday, July 16, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. If you don't have cable, you can watch the proceedings live online.

Visit Orlando Announces Record-breaking Milestone

In June, Visit Orlando announced our region was the first destination in the country to welcome more than 55 million visitors in one year.

Our final 2011 visitation numbers showed we received 55.1 million visitors, up 7.2% from last year's record-setting 51.4 million and 1.5% over the previous forecast of 54.3 million visitors. We remain the most visited destination in the U.S.

To maintain this momentum, our theme parks have planned projects that will keep the turnstiles spinning for years to come. Universal Orlando is working on an expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Sea World recently opened TurtleTrek and soon will open a cutting-edge attraction called Antarctica - Empire of the Penguin. Disney is in the midst of a major expansion of Fantasyland and is planning a themed attraction based on James Cameron's blockbuster movie, Avatar.

We are seeing a strong rebound in our visitation numbers and continue to be optimistic about Orange County's standing as the tourism capital of the world.

Nemours Children's Hospital Shows Progress at Lake Nona's Medical City

Nemours Children's Hospital CEO Roger Oxendale and other senior managers gave the Orange County Board of County Commissioners a tour of the integrated pediatric facility under construction at Lake Nona's Medical City.

Lake Nona's Medical City has transformed Orange County by creating a new economy, anchored by top-tier hospitals and nationally recognized medical research centers.

Medical City will help produce the miracle cures of tomorrow, while creating thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs today.

Last month, I toured Nemours Children's Hospital, a $400 million state-of-the-art facility that will welcome its first patients in October. From the arrangement of patient rooms and ceiling to floor windows, to a unique feature that allows young patients to produce a colorful light show from their beds, no detail was left out by the team at Nemours.

Medical City is an example of what can be accomplished with smart public and private investment and collaboration. By 2017, the economic impact of Medical City could top $7.6 billion annually, creating 30,000 jobs a year, $2.8 billion in annual wages and $460 million in yearly tax revenue.

I foresee the day when we are known as much for our research and high-tech medical care as we are for our high-tech thrill rides and theme parks.

News Worth Noting ...

I enjoyed spending some time with Lauren Rowe, news anchor with WKMG-TV- Local 6, in June. We talked about Tourist Development Tax funds, the Citrus Bowl and Orange County's economy on her political program Flashpoint.
The Orange County HELP Ordinance and Domestic Partnership Registry, which allows you to select a surrogate to make critical decisions for you when you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to make them yourself, launched on July 6, 2012.
Orange County-based Cole Engineering Services Inc. plans to add 40 new jobs, with an average salary of $61,245, during the next three years.
Orange County's City of Orlando ranked No. 3 in Travelocity's "Top 10 Most Popular U.S. Destinations for Fourth of July."
Orange County's tourist tax collections were up 4% in May compared to May 2011.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine named Orange County's City of Orlando one of the "fastest job-creating machines in the years ahead." Out of eight nationwide metropolitan areas, our region is poised for rapid job growth, said Kiplinger's Senior Economics Editor John Maggs.
Central Florida's 8.2% unemployment rate in May was down 1.8% from the 10.1% jobless rate a year ago, according to Workforce Central Florida.
It was my pleasure to attend the 100 Black Men of Orlando Scholarship Dinner Awards at the Rosen Centre Hotel in June. The event enables the organization to provide several Jones High School graduates financial support for their college education.

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