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THE MINUTE
CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE American Canyon 03-26-09
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
The city of American Canyon has launched an economic development stimulus package of its own that will provide economic relief to residents and businesses affected by the recession.
The City Council recently passed, the ACT Now program, short for American Canyon Can Thrive Now. The goal is to assist residents impacted by the recession and encourage re-investment in the local economy. The idea came out of a two-day annual planning conference in late February with the city council staff.
For example, the number of residents and business owners who were unable to pay their water bills on time jumped from less than 2% per month in a typical February to 7% this year, following a trend from January. In response, the ACT Now program will set aside $100,000 in city funds for a voucher program that will assist customers in danger of having their water shut off.
The City will also allow qualifying customers a longer period of time to pay past due balances, giving city staff the ability to waive penalties and work with customers on payment plans and give customers an option to pay a set amounts based on an average.
In addition, the program reduces the fee structure for plan check and building permits. There will be no fees charged on work valued at or less than $250,000 and the fee will be cut in half for construction valued between $250,000 and $1 million.
A third component of the program is to spark business investment through local lenders. The City will invest up to $3 million with local and regional banks that can commit to lending the money to local businesses and residents.
I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
To find out more about ACT Now, information is available at or contact Deanna Parness at (707) 647-4519. The City of American Canyon is located in southern Napa County and has a population of 17,000. For more information, visit .
