On Monday night, in spite of the fiscal numbers presented, your LaSalle City Council approved of hiring an economic director at a salary of $45,000 along with full medical coverage which costs the city an additional $15,000.00. Throw in $3,000 for mileage allowance and we are up to $63,000. We will also realize additional costs for phone, computer setup, office expenses, seminar fees , conference fees, well you get the idea.
The hope of those who supported this action (it passed 7-2 with the Mayor supporting) is that the person hired will bring economic growth to our city while those villages that surround us flounder.
The gentleman hired (or I should say appointed) is on a one year contract to show the city that he can do what others haven’t been able to, that is grow the economy in a recession /depression. Did I mention his name? Its Don Aleksy, one of the three individuals we interviewed last Monday in an informal setting. He and his wife are owners of their own business which sells Tupperware and you can check him out at BusinessCoaching4U.com He does not plan to stop anything he currently does and will add this position to his daily schedule.
Alderman Green and myself had asked to table the vote for a month in order to gather more information as to how we would pay for this new position. The balance of the Council thought this was too long to wait on such an important campaign promise so we were outvoted and the new position was approved and filled in a matter of minutes.
Those approving this action are as follows:
Aldermen Demes,Bacidore,Ptak,Laverie,Salazar,Herndon.
Opposed:
Alderman Green and myself. (the two longest serving aldermen presently with the most experience in fiscal matters)
No guidelines to measure progress were set..instead the Mayor said we will judge as we go forward. Review in one year (I have never seen a position done away with yet).
Those of us who have paid at least the first half of our property tax bill saw the increase from the City of LaSalle’s portion of our bill. This was due to the fact that a couple of bond payments normally paid from our general fund were passed on to the taxpayer because we didn’t have enough to pay our ongoing expenses. The hope by some of us was that we would be able to avoid that in this fiscal year by saving enough in expenses to fund the bond in house. The cost about $180,000.00 NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
We need (according to our police chief ) to hire an additional three police officers to be at a level that meets our city’s population and its needs. NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
But the GOOD NEWS….we have an Economic Director….if you need a loan for your property tax bill or want a police officer but none are available…you can always call our Economic Director…now where did I put that phone number?
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I’m in complete agreement with aldermen Schoeder and Green. It seems our next store neighbors (Peru) did quite well during better economic times without an Economic Director by focusing on what’s really important to new business … great city services and an excellent and varied infrastructure.
Garry… you got off easy. 7-8 yars ago Princeton decided they needed a City Manager, or Economic Director… same thing in my book… at a salary and benefit package of $100,000+ per year. The city fathers then reduced their pay, which was only fitting considering they gave up much of their responsibilties. Unfortuantely, a couple of years later they voted to give themselves raises that equaled or bettered their pay prior to their reduction…
In the 7-8 years since Princeton’s had a city manager (hired for development and the overall running of things) I have a difficult time realizing what the position has gained the city. Certainly nothing the city fathers couldn’t have handled all by themselves… like the ftahers before them had done for well over a hundred years.
Maybe the $700,000 to $800,000 in salary and benefits paid have something to do with it?
Be thankful you got a 1 year contract and your outlay is better than a third less… Maybe it’ll pay off for LaSalle.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts…time will tell
I believe promoting a competent and professional community economic development program is a worthwhile long-term investment in civic betterment. Nonetheless, I’m concerned about how the current situation is playing out.
First of all, no discernible effort has been made to introduce and explain the development process to city residents. Combine that with the unrealistically high expectations that have been fostered and the nebulous goals that have been set, and our new program’s prospects for success may already have been undermined.
Community economic development is a long-term process, and much of the most important work is tedious foundation building. There are simply no quick remedies, and anyone who expects immediate results will undoubtedly be disappointed. Unfortunately, by instituting a one-year review, the need for immediate and visible achievements is clearly implied.
Also, by establishing (and solely funding) a municipal office of economic development, La Salle has embarked on a program that embraces yesterday’s model. The field is evolving, and it now seems the most effective approach to community economic development employs a public-private partnership coordinated–not directed–by a separate and independent entity. The Northwest Illinois Development Alliance, Freeport’s economic development corporation, is one such example.
Furthermore, community economic development has grown into a dynamic profession. There is much more to it than putting together a solicitation packet and selling the city. I’m disappointed our municipal policymakers didn’t take the time to develop a more thorough, sophisticated, and collectively-accepted understanding of the process and the profession. Without that, how can the new program’s performance be effectively monitored and assessed?
Finally, I disagree with you on one point. Despite the challenging overall economy, this is a fine time to institute a community economic development program. Given the long-term, continuous nature of the process, there is much groundwork to be accomplished. That can be done at any point in the economic cycle, and could provide a sound foundation for development efforts when the general economy is more healthy.
Thank you very much for providing this forum.
Tom,
You make many good points in your comment. Not only is the field changing, but you are right that community development needs to involve the community. And as has been brought up at many of our previous business/tourism meetings, we need to focus on promoting the value & benefits of locating a business here. No one is going to bring their business here just because some politician wants them to.
As you said, there is much work to be done along these lines. Most people know I worked for the city for the last few years, and as time permitted we were working on achieving this. As you said, all of this can be done now even though there is little chance of attracting business. Now is the time to continue our past efforts at finalizing a new comprehensive plan and improving our infrastructure and streetscapes.
Because of the economy & city finances, I didn’t agree with hiring someone dedicated to this, and as you said, the one year review is not really a realistic format. I think with the work that needs to be done and the limited development options right now due to the economy, LaSalle had other choices that would have cost less or the same and achieved greater success in one year’s time. Particularly because I understand the person hired has little to no economic development experience or training. And even Mayor Grove admitted at the meeting the city will be paying to train this person.
So in the end, I would have rather seen the city continue the social media efforts we started such as Website development, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and then hired a group like North Central Council of Governments (a trained, professional group of planners) to implement community meetings and develop a comprehensive plan and development program.
I’m pleased to “meet” you.
As you noted, I do tend to emphasize the importance of community. There’s much more to economic development than its “dollars and cents” aspect. The ultimate objective is, or should be, community betterment.
You’re absolutely correct that a well-developed Web presence is pivotal to local economic development efforts. Although actual numbers are difficult to pinpoint, in excess of eighty-five percent of all initial development inquiries are the result of Web-based contacts. That indicates the need for a strong commitment to the Web, including Web 2.0 networking tools.
As I mentioned above (and in another post), I’m not persuaded by the “Municipal Economic Director” model. I believe an independent economic development entity–as utilized by Freeport, Kewanee, and others–might best have been pursued.
Still,I am a proponent of having an economic development professional exclusively dedicated to the interests of La Salle. The decidedly mixed results we’ve experienced through regional endeavors argue for a “La Salle Centric” approach.
Again, good “talking” with you.
Thank you Tom for your thoughts as well as taking the time to share them with us.