Interview: Heather Simmons

Public sector initiatives In order to attract the required foreign investment in the state, public officials have to work on attractive incentives that allow New Jersey to be competitive on the national stage. The state offers several incentives including low-interest loans for small and mediumsized businesses, direct lending from the Economic Development Authority (EDA), which offers up to $2 million for fixed costs, the small business fund, which offers up to $500,000 and a bond financing program that can inject up to $10 million in liquidity. The state also offers lease incentives, technical assistance and industry-specific programs, such as for the technology and life sciences businesses. A tax incentive program was renewed by Gov. Murphy in December 2020 to drive economic growth, with a total cap of $11.5 billion in the next six years. This equates to around $1.5 billion per year and another $2.5 billion is allocated to major or transformative projects. New Jersey also created the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund, which uses funds from auctioning off tax credits to support extra investment. Heather Simmons

Commissioner –Gloucester County South Jersey Film Office Cooperative

What makes Camden and Gloucester counties the ideal region for film production?

Between all of the municipalities in Camden and Gloucester counties, we have tremendous commercial locations, open spaces, diverse landmarks, waterfronts and talent. Our diversification of environments, from some of the most densely populated areas in the nation to rural farmlands, is unmatched. South Jersey as a whole has urban settings, beach settings, farms, wineries, industrial, rivers and old neighborhoods. Once we get producers to look at us, they’re going to find something to match whatever their script is looking for. If you can’t shoot it in South Jersey, you have no business shooting it. Location scouts also get very excited about New Jersey because the ease of doing business for these productions is much, much more welcoming than it is elsewhere.

How are Camden and Gloucester counties ensuring adequate workforce for production companies?

We strive for workforce development and that fits here too. Production companies traveling in want to know that they can roster together a crew that will bring them the level they need, depending on the budget they have. Even as we watched our neighbors in Philadelphia make their way into feature production, workforce was always a big issue there. We’re building a new industry here that can be standalone and not have to rely on crews from New York or Philadelphia. Building that workforce is significant, which is why Rowan University has a degree program in film production and our community colleges have various levels of film studies already in place. A production company has to know that they can put enough people together to get the job done. Both Camden and Gloucester counties are adjusting and creating workforce development programs to meet the demands of this narrow yet important focus.

We’ve been exporting talent from South Jersey to the entertainment industry for a very long time. This is an opportunity for our people to not have to move out of state to work in entertainment.

Gov. Murphy’s FY22 budget hikes spending by $4 billion over FY21

The New Jersey government has bet big on two particular sectors — technology and renewable energy — and both bets will benefit South Jersey. The Murphy administration has plans to upgrade a new $200 million port in South Jersey to serve the offshore wind industry, anchored by the Ørsted project.

New Jersey is fending off competition from New York, which awarded Equinor contracts to build new offshore wind projects in January. New Jersey is also planning to install two ports to serve offshore developers, one of which will be in Salem County. Not only this, but the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities this February granted approval to Atlantic City Electric to roll out programs that expand clean EV transportation options in South Jersey.

The government has not only been looking to attract new businesses in the last year, it is also offering support to the local businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s Payment Protection Program (PPP) and Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, six South Jersey townships were awarded $750,000 in grants to help their local businesses recover from COVID-19 impacts. At least 60% of the funding has to be used for businesses and other funding can be used for district-wide improvements. Millville in Cumberland County was granted the largest award, at $231,200, followed by Burlington City and Mount Holly, both in Burlington County, which were awarded $120,300 and $139,300, respectively.

Looking ahead According to research from Stockton University’s Center for Public Policy, the region’s long-term economic outlook will depend on continued economic diversification. There is still some uncertainty about the ability to return to normal, which can be witnessed by the reluctance of South Jersey residents to enter public spaces without a mask, despite the mandate having been dropped by the governor. Some feel so uncomfortable with the reopening that they are asking the state to mandate vaccines, given that just over half of the state’s population was vaccinated by the end of June 2021.

Despite the challenges of returning to social norms, strong foundations will propel economic development going forward. The burgeoning wind industry sets the region up as a renewable energy leader and the burgeoning cannabis and healthcare industries, as well as continued investments in infrastructure and small, minority-owned businesses are already beginning to bear fruits. The governor’s FY2022 budget proposed $44.8 billion in total spending, a $4 billion increase over FY2021.