Littleton, CO now avoids financial incentives altogether. Can you spell Economic Gardening?

Littleton now avoids financial incentives altogether, preferring instead to promote development through private investment and fostering local businesses through its "Economic Gardening" program.

The program provides businesses with the tools they need to succeed and promotes the community’s trails, parks and other amenities to create an attractive environment for business.

"Companies come and go in Littleton all the time, just like everywhere else. But they don’t take our investment with them. Our investment has gone into our tools and to our infrastructure and the intellectual infrastructure," said Chris Gibbons, director of Littleton’s Business/Economic Affairs.

In the first 15 years after the "Economic Gardening" concept took root in 1987, Littleton’s employment climbed from 14,000 to 29,000 and sales tax revenue more than tripled, increasing from $6 million to $19 million. Population growth increased 30 percent in that time.

"We find that people who want to be in Littleton, and lots of companies do, will invest here anyway because it’s a good business environment. The core decision is not that we have to ‘buy a date’ with them, the core decision is: Is it a good place to be doing business," Gibbons said.

By Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News

Full Story: http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3693237,00.html

(Thanks to Dan Ripke Director Center for Economic Development for passing this along. Russ)