Economic Development

The City’s Economic Development Office provides information, ombudsman and referral services to attract, retain, and grow business in Moorpark.

• City Programs
• County Programs
• State Programs
• Federal Programs

CITY

• In partnership with the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce, the City is Co-sponsor of the annual "Business and Community Guide" which provides information about doing business in Moorpark, as well as information about City services and demographics. The City also Co-sponsors Chamber special events.
• City membership to the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County (EDC-VC) offers the following services to businesses: financing through In-house Loan Program and Financial Resource Directory; Business Enhancement Program, with free business consulting services (such as company assessments, strategic and marketing planning, workflow improvement, managing cash flow, financial planning, sources of capital, administrative issues such as personnel and risk management, international trade and commerce, and electronic/internet commerce). Also provides seminars and workshops, including the Entrepreneurial Academy, the Business Roundtable, and a business reference library. Other EDC-VC services offered include:
• Utility Incentive Programs, including the POWER (Preserving Our Widely-used Electrical Resources) partnership to identify and instruct businesses in best practices for energy consumption.
• VCBio (biotechnology-related businesses); Ventura County Film Council; Environmental Business Council; Ag Futures Alliance; HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Easier – workforce housing).
• Business Advocacy: through EDC-VC’s membership to the Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA).
• Liaison Services with local governments and their staff and elected officials.
• Marketing/data packages to potential new businesses.
• UCSB Economic Forecast Project regularly provides current economic, statistical and business information, including an annual economic forecast. This information is available to existing and potential new local businesses seeking information for decision-making regarding siting or growing a business in Moorpark.
• RDP-21 (Regional Defense Partnership) and Southwest Defense Alliance (SWDA) are two different defense partnerships. Both groups provide advocacy efforts to retain and grow local military bases that provide jobs and purchasing dollars that contribute to the local economy.
• Consults with the Community Development Department during the process for approval of tenant imporvements to buildings.
• Community Policing Office offers a range of services to business, including: training on prevention of bad check, forgery, and credit card and identity theft; site safety assessments for prevention of burglary, robbery, and parking lot attacks; training on prevention of violence in the workplace; and the Fax Alert Network that “blast faxes” real time information to local businesses to make them aware of crime trends in Moorpark.

COUNTY

• Ventura County Job and Career Centers:
• Services to employers include: recruiting qualified job seekers to fill openings, including setting up job fairs; setting up special interview sessions at the Job and Career Center; advertising job openings; training and retraining services for current employees, including customized training packages that can be provided on-site or off-site; information on tax benefits and funding sources to cover partial salary costs of new employees; provision of labor market information.
• Services to job seekers: job skills assessment; job search counseling; job placement; training; childcare; transportation; work clothing bank.
• Rapid Response Team Services include: assisting employers and employees effected by job loss and business closure by identifying resources to retain the business and the jobs, identifying the many legal requirements and assistance programs for reductions-in-force, and providing orientations to assist dislocated workers to gain new employment. The Rapid Response Team coordinates the efforts of the many agencies involved in reductions-in-force, including the Employment Development Department (EDD) and the Department of Labor (DOL), among others.
• Ventura County Fire Protection District: Business Self-Inspection Program for Fire Safety.

STATE

• California Manufacturing Technology Center: Free and low-cost Consulting Services (such as company assessments, strategic and marketing planning, ISO 9000 implementation, workflow improvement, plant layout, training, and organizational development) funded by the State of California, for industrial and manufacturing businesses.

• Center for International Trade Development (CITD)is a state-funded economic & workforce development initiative executed through the community colleges. For more information call 805-986-5896.

FEDERAL

• Women´s Economic Ventures (WEV): Funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration
• Provides a number of consulting services for small businesses, including seminars and workshops on many topics of interest for business.
• Provides funding resources in the form of low interest loans. Many different types of State and Federal loans are available.