Menifee: Attacking Economic Recovery from All Sides

I probably hear or read this phrase once a day: this is the worst economic environment in memory. 

With jobs, incomes and government revenues continuing to decline, it would be futile (and useless) to argue when things have been worse since the Great Depression. 

Instead, I, and my fellow council members in Menifee, have chosen a different path.  We are working every day to save jobs and attract new residential and commercial development and we have passed California’s most creative and ambitious stimulus plan.  It’s fresh, cutting-edge, and unique and we want to share it with other city leaders with the hope that we, as the government leaders closest to the people, can lead our state back to prosperity.

In May, we unanimously passed a comprehensive plan that slashes homebuilder fees by 65% and lowers the cost of the permitting process by 20% to incentivize development in Menifee.  It seemed counterintuitive to some to lower fees when we are suffering from declining revenues but the reality is, like many cities, we were not collecting development fees at all because the cost of development was too high.  By implementing strategic incentives, homebuilders will look to our city first when thinking about their next project and generate that revenue that has been absent during this downward turn in the business cycle.  But we didn’t stop just on the supply side, we also needed to look for new ways to attract new residents and stimulate sales tax revenues.  The answer: “Menifee Money”.

“Menifee Money” is a rebate for homebuyers that provide them with a gift card worth 50% of the portion of their property tax bill that the City would normally receive when they move in.  These cards can be redeemed at partner stores in Menifee and gives that extra incentive to spend money in Menifee, generate sales tax receipts and help our local retail outlets.  Menifee homebuyers also get another “Menifee Money” gift card when they pay their property tax bill a year later.  Not only are we stimulating the purchasing of new homes, we want home buyers to go out and buy that new refrigerator or washer and dryer to go in that new home.  We are also working with our local retailers to try and provide matching gift certificates for new home buyers, creating even more incentives for new residents and builders alike.  Many of these details are still being ironed out, however, since the council approved the stimulus plan in May, customer traffic and business activity has picked up at city hall. 

As ambitious and unique as the above actions are, they are only phase one in our stimulus plan.  We are all too aware of the negative effects that foreclosed homes have on our cities.  Aside from the obvious decline in property values and property tax receipts that result from foreclosures, those properties present new challenges in that they depress neighborhood morale, are unsightly and present code enforcement nightmares.  We are currently working to address these issues through phase two of our stimulus plan that includes public/private partnerships with financial institutions and property rehab specialists to buy the properties and recondition them for sale.  We also plan to develop a down payment assistance program that further incentivizes people to think of Menifee first when purchasing a home. Stay tuned for more new and creative approaches to meet this economic challenge from the City of Menifee!

As city leaders, we know that economic recovery cannot happen without people and jobs to drive our economic engines.  Our stimulus plan has something for the seller, the buyer and the City of Menifee.  It puts local sub-contractors back to work in Menifee, protects our neighborhoods, and increases retail activity in our local marketplace and returns sales and property tax revenue to the city.  We believe it’s a good recipe that positively impacts the entire supply chain and one that other cities should look at for their own economic recovery.