Merced County voted to expand the Merced County Regional Enterprise Zone. An additional 1,877 acres of county land were added to the enterprise zone, which has kept 3,130 jobs in Merced County and created 692 new jobs, according to Mark Hendrickson, the county’s director of economic development. The enterprise zone designation comes from the state Department of Housing and Community Development and provides tax incentives for businesses in the zone.

Merced County Supervisor, Deidre F. Kelsey, has responded to Dan Walter’s opinion of California’s Enterprise Zone program. The full text of his response is below:

Contrary to Dan Walters’ column (“It’s time for a hard look at California tax dodges,” Nov. 9) enterprise zones create jobs.

Proof is in the numbers: Since the designation of the Merced County Enterprise Zone in December 2006, 577 new jobs have been created.

These jobs are a lifeline for residents in Merced, many of whom face barriers to employment.

Merced County and its cities have typically struggled to attract new businesses and is an area that has been hard hit by the economic downturn. In September of this year, Merced County had a 15.7 percent unemployment rate, which is down from 20.2 percent in March 2009.

Our state desperately needs concrete economic development tools in order to remain competitive
We cannot afford to be short-sighted; we should not cut back programs that will fundamentally help us grow our economy and recover from the recession. Merced has seen first-hand the benefits of the enterprise zone designation.

Recent research has shown that enterprise zones increase employment, increase wage, salary and income levels, and decrease poverty rates. These are measurable benefits that are eagerly welcomed in our county.

The enterprise zone program represents an important investment in the future of Merced, and in the health of our state. We can no longer take for granted that businesses will locate in California and grow into a healthy and sustainable tax base.

We need to show that our cities and county are open for business, and the enterprise zone helps deliver that critical message.

Deidre F. Kelsey is chairwoman of the Merced County Board of Supervisors.

At long last, Merced received its final designation and remove the “conditional” tag. Presumably all the maps and TEA should be finalized as well. Merced businesses can run with the ball and fully utilize the great Enterprise Zone benefits.