10-11-1995 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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The ability of the City to direct the implementation steps will be influenced by the organizational resources available to the Development Guide. These steps represent a significant time demand for City Staff and City Council. The demands of the Development Guide will compete with other city business. Organizational changes can be made to apply additional time and resources towards implementation. The Economic Development Authority (EDA) should be given the responsibility for implementation of the Development Guide. This step makes the Development Guide the primary focus of an organization, rather than part of a broader City Council agenda. In addition, State Law gives EDA's specific powers that will apply to implementation. Currently, City Council members serve as commissioners of the EDA. The City must decide if this structure should continue. The short -term advantage of this structure is maintaining continuity of decision making. The City Council will be responsible for all initial decisions relating to the Development Guide. The drawback is the time commitment required of Council members. For the long -term, the City should consider appointing non - Council members to the EDA. This action expands the organizational resources available for economic development. By involving residents and business people, it also helps to achieve the implementation strategy of using public- private partnerships. Staffing is another important organizational issue. Current city staff have the capabilities to undertake the implementation steps described in the Development Guide. As with the City Council, time becomes a limiting factor. Without additional staff resources, implementation demands may divert time from other important city activities and /or not receive sufficient attention. Maximizing the success of the Development Guide will require additional staff resources. These resources can be provided by hiring additional staff or by retaining outside consultants. The use of consulting services is recommended for the following reasons: • Consulting services can be available immediately. There is often a delay in recruiting permanent staff. • A consulting relationship can be time limited. Additional capacity is added for a specific period of time. In this case, many key implementation steps occur in the next 12 to 24 months. After that time, the nature of the relationship can be altered. Full -time staff do not provide this flexibility. • The same dollar amount generally purchases more experience. Implementation [Draft. September 27, 1995] PAGE 30 Page 4 +13