Civil Municipal View Feb2023

111 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 PORTSMOUTH , V I RGINI A businesses that cover some early-stage costs. The city created the program last year and has already assisted 30 new companies. Micro-businesses operate with ten or fewer employees, and 90% of the small enterprises participating in the program were a part of a minority group or women-owned. “We’re proud to be able to support these segments of our population who traditionally may not have had resources to launch their businesses. The city has successfully reached these communities, and now we plan to expand on the program and offer it again this year,” says Donahue. The city has also established a workforce development initiative called Portsmouth at Work. It’s a career pathway course where the city collaborates with public schools, higher educational institutions, industry players, and communities. Portsmouth wants to ensure that all its residents gain employment and is proud to “The Casino will provide an anchor for an entirely new development that will immediately employ 1,300 individuals,” says Donahue. It will also provide new spaces for additional restaurants and entertainment venues. Portsmouth’s city management team projects that the development will generate over $16.3 million in new revenue. This new revenue will allow the city to invest in community projects that need additional funding. The city works closely with the community of small business owners, new startups, and entrepreneurial endeavors. With larger operators flocking to the city, management is proud that the small business community is thriving. The City of Portsmouth has launched and developed unique programs to assist these fledgling businesses, unique to the city and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Portsmouth provides microgrants to new