lifeinaction
DoingBusinessinCarlsbad

 

OIED work 125

 OIED commuter 125 OIED life 3 125

 

Workforce development &
small-business assistance

Carlsbad Commuter app

Carlsbad Life in Action Recruiter
 

2024 Carlsbad Business Survey is Open

The City of Carlsbad has launched its 2024 Carlsbad Business Survey. This survey is a confidential and convenient way for local business owners and leaders to share feedback about Carlsbad as a place to do business. 

You can take the survey here: carlsbadca.gov/BusinessSurvey 
It should only take about 15 minutes to complete. 

About the Survey
  • The survey will be open through January 2024.
  • The survey is intended for business owners, executive management, and senior leaders who have knowledge of the overall operations and direction of the business.
  • Responses will be anonymized and aggregated with other responses. No individual or business information will be shared or published.
  • The survey asks about different aspects of current business operations, such as workforce and hiring needs, access to clients and customers, and permitting and regulatory concerns. It also asks about future growth expectations and feedback on the business climate in Carlsbad.
  • The survey is conducted every two years to ensure the city understands current challenges and trends in the business community.
  • The City of Carlsbad appreciates your time and participation in this survey. Your feedback will help improve services and support for the local business community.
  • For any questions related to the survey, please contact our economic development team at business@carlsbadca.gov.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure the City of Carlsbad is better informed about the state of the business community!

Doing business

The economic development team is here to serve and support the city’s business community. Whether you are a small business or our largest tech employer, the city wants to make sure your business thrives in Carlsbad. The city team is here to help with getting your business license, bidding on projects and contracts or meeting with our development services team about permits and processes. You can learn more about the benefits of starting or expanding a business in Carlsbad at our Doing Business in Carlsbad story map. If you are a business looking for a new space in Carlsbad, please email economic development staff at business@carlsbadca.gov.

Useful resources 

Looking to start your own business? Our questionnaire is designed to link small businesses with local resources, providing information to tackle some of the top challenges prospective small businesses commonly face.

The Guide to Opening an Eating Establishment provides insight on where you can open an eating establishment in our city and how the process works. Useful information for food truck and sidewalk vendors can be found on our website as well. 

New state and local environmental regulations are being phased in over the next couple of years. Find information on these regulations, as well as resources for your staff and customers, on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle page. 

Talent attraction & retention

One of the City Council’s strategic focus areas is bringing quality jobs to the city in today’s globally competitive economy. Carlsbad's Life In Action initiative is a resource for employers looking to land that perfect candidate. It provides additional tools, such as a hiring toolkit with media assets, brochures and infographics, to make the case for why the job in Carlsbad is the right one. 

The Carlsbad Job-Readiness Room is a free program that helps residents build job skills and bolster their chances of landing a new job in Carlsbad. The platform is powered by Bendable, a learning marketplace that allows people to discover new knowledge and skills through online courses, in-person events and other learning resources.

Economic Snapshots

Carlsbad Economic Snapshot FY 2022-2023 Q3

Economic Development Strategic Plan

Carlsbad Economic Development Strategic Plan

Biennial Business Report

The biennial business report provides an understanding of specific attributes of Carlsbad’s business climate, including workforce and hiring needs, access to clients and customers, and permitting and regulatory concerns, among other issues for Carlsbad’s business community.

2022 Carlsbad Business Report

Connect with us

Carlsbad has a range of options for businesses to establish, grow and thrive. If you are ready to learn more about doing business along the creative coast or have general questions about doing business in our city, contact the Innovation & Economic Development Department at business@carlsbadca.gov. 

News headlines

FY 2023-24 Budget Adopted

Post Date:06/14/2023 9:32 AM

At its meeting on June 13, the Carlsbad City Council adopted a balanced budget for fiscal year 2023-2024, which spans from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.

The city’s FY 23-24 budget invests in the City Council’s highest priorities, sets money aside for future infrastructure needs and grows the city’s cash reserves, while reducing ongoing spending in various areas to shore up the city’s long term financial health.

The budget reflects a call for all departments to increase efficiency and find new ways to reduce ongoing spending. In addition to reducing city staffing by the equivalent of 12 positions, the budget identifies various base spending reductions totaling $2.3 million at a time when inflation is 6%.

The budget maintains the city’s high level of service, which includes several programs added in recent years to address City Council priorities. These include a beach lifeguard program, a program to reduce homelessness, an additional fire station and two additional ambulances, a police ranger program for city parks and trails, more pool lifeguards, additional parks, and enhanced efforts to protect the environment.

The budget also includes new and expanded services to meet state mandates that did not come with new state funding, and reflects increasing costs due to inflation and supply chain issues.

The city presented a preliminary draft budget to the City Council at its meeting on May 23 and hosted a community workshop on June 1 to answer questions and hear comments from residents.

During the presentation of the preliminary draft budget, the City Council requested additions for the adopted FY 23-24 budget, including:

Village property business improvement district
$20,000 has been added to study a potential Carlsbad Village property business improvement district. 

Lowering railroad tracks in the Village
Staff explored several potential funding options to advance the project to lower the railroad tracks in the Village, including a federal grant program. The next phase of the project is estimated to cost $26.1 million, and $5.22 million in local funding is required to be eligible for the grant program. 

The city’s FY 23-24 budget now includes a $5.22 million appropriation from the General Fund Reserve to meet the requirement. If the grant is not awarded, the city’s $5.22 million would be returned to the General Fund Reserve. 

 

At a glance*

Proposed Operating Budget
The General Fund operating budget pays for most day-to-day city services.

$211.7 million

 

Projected revenues
The city’s budget is balanced with a surplus of approximately $300,000.

$212.0 million

New savings
Because the city has forecasted that ongoing spending will exceed ongoing revenues in the next few years, this year’s budget scales back contracted custodial services, nonessential parks maintenance, printing and other administrative expenses, travel and training for city staff, and city cell phone use, among other things expected to have a minimal impact on the community.

$2.3 million

Proposed staff reductions (net)
To help reduce ongoing spending as much as possible, several departments have eliminated or consolidated positions to reduce the total number of full-time equivalent positions.

- 12.06

Projected reserves
The General Fund reserve is like a rainy-day fund to help maintain city services during an emergency or help bridge economic downturns. The City Council’s policy is to always have the equivalent of 40% of one year’s budget in reserve. The projected amount at the end of the FY 24 is 59%. Since 2019, several new City Council policies and a new approach to developing the city’s budget have resulted in the city’s General Fund reserve growing by 43%.

$118.2 million

Pension funding
The pension funding ratio refers to the size of a city’s pension obligation (what is owed to retirees) compared to the money it has paid into the pension fund. Carlsbad is in the top three in the county for pension funding.

86% (goal is 80%)

* all figures refer to the city’s General Fund 

 

Return to full list >>