To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vin Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Brendan Hurley, Economic Development Program Coordinator
TITLE: Financial and Economic Indicator Update, Q3 2023, and Workforce Spotlight with Workforce Alliance of the North Bay (WANB), September 2023
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Receive and discuss the following:
A. Financial update from Robert Eyler, PhD, regarding the City’s Economic Development Dashboard and key performance indicators.
B. Presentation by Bruce Wilson, the Executive Director of the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay (WANB), on WANB strategic goals and workforce development strategies generated from the Napa Labor Market Analysis & Strategy report.
C. Overview of internal indicators by Economic Development staff and Dr. Eyler that track the economic health of the City as it relates to investment levels and taxable sales/revenue to key Geo Areas.
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DISCUSSION:
Background
The Economic Development Division and Finance Department have created a system to capture a range of economic metrics on the City of Napa’s economic performance and communicate those metrics to City Council, staff, and the general public. Dr. Eyler, President at Economic Forensics and Analytics and Economist at Sonoma State University, has assisted with data capture and will provide City Council with quarterly updates on key indicators. A publicly accessible “Economic Development Dashboard” (www.cityofnapa.org/1172/Economic-Development-Dashboard <http://www.cityofnapa.org/1172/Economic-Development-Dashboard>) is available on the City’s website to view indicators as they get updated on a quarterly basis.
Dr. Eyler’s quarterly economic report (see Attachment 1) includes a macro-overview of the general economic outlook and indicators based on local business health, property investment and improvement, labor force trends, tourism trends, and housing and equity issues.
The economic report and publicly available Economic Development Dashboard include the following indicators:
• COVID-19 employment recovery and inflation trends
• Taxable sales to track business health in terms of revenue and sales tax revenue for the City
• Napa County’s gross regional product economic output (GRP)
• Visitor and Tourism Trends including hotel occupancy rates and average daily rate
• Labor Trends such as unemployment, employment by industry and median wages
• Housing Trends including median home price, market forecast, and rent comparisons to other jurisdictions
• Equity Trends such as housing burden costs
In addition to Dr. Eyler’s quarterly report, Bruce Wilson, the Executive Director of WANB, will tie into the workforce metrics and provide an in-depth look at building a talent development strategy for the City. The Labor Market and Analysis & Strategy report, available at North-Bay-Napa-Workforce-Report-4.17.23.pdf (workforcealliancenorthbay.org) <https://www.workforcealliancenorthbay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/North-Bay-Napa-Workforce-Report-4.17.23.pdf> (see Attachment 2), provides an in-depth analysis of Napa County’s baseline economic conditions, current workforce capacity, job demand, key skills gaps, and the strategic opportunities created by industry shifts, migration trends, and the rise of remote work since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finally, Economic Development staff along with Dr. Eyler will present internal indicators that track the economic health of key commercial areas of the City (known as Geo Areas), including investment levels and tax revenue generation, and citywide commercial and industrial real estate trends. The following Geos Areas are being tracked based on their importance as key commercial areas and/or identified as Focus Areas in the Napa 2040 General Plan (see Attachment 3):
• Napa Premium Outlets
• Downtown Napa
• The Oxbow
• Jefferson Street Focus Area
• Trancas Street Focus Area
• Soscol North Focus Area
• Soscol South Focus Area
The Economic Development Dashboard, analysis of economic and workforce development metrics, and the City’s revenue and expenses can inform City Council, staff and the public on economic performance and progress and further guide decision-making.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Although there are no direct financial impacts to this report, staff will use the information to assist in recommendations to City Council on financial matters
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines
Section 15060.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - City of Napa EFA Indicators September 2023
ATCH 2 - Workforce Alliance of the North Bay Labor Market Analysis and Strategy Report
ATCH 3 - Napa Geo Display Maps
NOTIFICATION:
None