File photo. 

It looks like some city efforts to improve business in Long Beach have paid off.

The City of Long Beach has officially been selected as a finalist for the prize of Most Business Friendly City in Los Angeles County by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a follow up to its 2009 Eddy Award win from the same organization.

The selection comes on the heels of the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed)’s listing of Long Beach as one of the five most business-friendly cities in Los Angeles County, announced last June.

“We are extremely proud of the incentives we provide for start-ups and to help businesses stay and grow in Long Beach,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement. “Last year alone more than 2,500 new businesses opened in Long Beach, and they are contributing to the City’s strong growth and continued development.”

This year’s Eddy Awards are set to take place on November 10. Finalists will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated priority commitment to economic development
  • Excellence in programs and services designed to facilitate business entry, expansion, and retention
  • Competitive business tax rates and fee structures
  • Availability of economic incentives
  • Effective communication with and about business clients

“The City of Long Beach has an array of programs to help businesses stay and grow, including: Pacific Gateway, which helps local businesses find, train, and retain qualified employees; the i-team, which spent the last year developing a package of initiatives to make it easier to start and grow a business in the city, and; the Ombudsmen, which serves as a central point of contact to help businesses access City services, and guide them through the permitting process,” stated the LAEDC in a release. “Numerous incentives that assist small business, manufacturers and other businesses encourage entrepreneurs, and an open business survey process helps the City engage and get feedback in the spirit of optimizing services and processes.”

“Our citywide economic development efforts foster and encourage business and job growth, facilitate business relocation and expansion, and increase economic activity, which directly help to maintain the quality and strength of our neighborhoods,” said City Manager Patrick H. West in a statement.

For more information, contact Business Ombudsman Seyed Jalali at [email protected] or (562) 570-6172.