We were impressed this week to hear that the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association embraced Routt County’s addition to Colorado’s Rural Jump-Start Zone program in spite of the fact that the program won’t be extended to the city limits of Steamboat Springs.

We interpret that endorsement as a positive sign that business leaders here understand how closely the economy of the city is tied to the overall economy of the county, and that inevitably, an increasing share of business growth here is likely to take place outside the city limits.

Jump-Start is administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Trade, and it partners with local governments to provide incentives to qualifying businesses in the form of relief from: state income and sales and use taxes; county and municipal personal property taxes; and state income taxes for their employees for up to eight years.

Read more at Steamboat Today.