Urban and Rural Business Services

Teams

Contact

Ginger Chinn | Managing Director 801-538-8850 | gchinn@utah.gov

Urban and Rural Business Services

Efforts continued this year to improve Utah’s Urban and Rural Business Services. GOED now manages 10 rural programs, including two new initiatives added by the Legislature in 2019. Many of our rural programs are legacy programs that require optimization. Through strategic planning and analysis, we will continue to fulfill GOED’s mission by refining the grant and tax incentive packages to enable business growth and expansion and to develop business-ready infrastructure.

GOED applied for the State Science & Technology Institute’s Manufacturing Policy Academy and was accepted to participate alongside New Jersey, Kentucky and Puerto Rico. Through this academy, we began to look at opportunities to expand manufacturing in Utah’s rural communities. By following the academy’s blueprint, we can develop a stronger and more diverse economy by working with large business, small business and entrepreneurs.

This past year also presented an opportunity to expand the 2017 Opportunity Zones incentives, which were established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. GOED partnered with the Sorenson Impact Center, the Utah Association of Counties and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute to formulate a plan to assist both our rural and urban areas in low-income census tracts. The goal is to attract investments in areas that need it the most.

Thanks to our partnerships with the private sector, statewide economic development organizations and other state and federal agencies, Utah is known as a place for companies and industries seeking to expand, relocate, partner and innovate. GOED has the capacity to deliver more opportunities to Utah businesses than ever. Every win enhances our economy.