Published: July 20, 2008 10:46 pm         

Proposal calls for adding economic development staff, emphasizing job recruitment

A proposal to the city of Enid by area economic development officials calls for adding more economic development staff and increasing the funds the city puts into economic development efforts.

Enid/Garfield County Development Alliance presented a proposal to city commissioners during last week’s study session that calls for doubling the economic development operating budget, adding two staff members to focus on adding and retaining quality jobs in the Enid region and looking for a dedicated revenue stream for business and job recruitment incentives.

Jon Blankenship, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce and Enid/Garfield Co. Development Alliance, said the proposal calls for the Alliance to “staff up” and hire an executive director for the Alliance. Blankenship would continue to lead the community development efforts with the Chamber.

City Manager Eric Benson said he expects city commissioners to be receptive to the idea and the additional funding.

“We’ve under-apportioned those issues,” Benson said regarding funding for economic development. “They (Chamber and Alliance) have not had the staff or the commitment financially from the community or the city.”

The recommendations include increasing the Alliance job recruit operations from $50,000 to $170,000 annually, increasing the Alliance annual operating budget to approximately $250,000; having at least two people (executive director and staff) who are focused entirely on the job growth mission; and relocating the Alliance office and operations to the James W. Strate Center for Business Development.

The additional funds from the city could be funded by the $100,000 annual contribution from OG&E Electric Services for economic development plus interest earnings from the city’s economic development fund.

Brian Hayden, Alliance chairman, said the proposed changes will help the Alliance focus entirely on job creation and retention.

“Having joint operations between the Chamber and Alliance has economized our resources and helped produce successes,” he said. “However, the workload in this area has increased substantially. We need to staff up and have at least two people committed 100 percent of the time to the job growth mission.”

Benson said he’s confident the city can find the money to pay for the recommendation. He called the proposal by Alliance officials a “collaborative effort” that has involved business leaders providing a “steadied examination of the issues.”

Enid’s economic development efforts currently are funded in a three-tiered approach. The Alliance operating budget is $140,000 a year with the county providing $40,000, the city providing $50,000 and private donors providing $50,000.

Blankenship said many peer cities to Enid are investing much more money into economic development than Enid does. Also, those communities have a revenue stream that contributes money to the efforts each year. For example, Ponca City 10 years ago passed an economic development sales tax specifically for job creation and retention. They renewed it five years ago, and it generates $1.8 million a year.

Ardmore also has an ongoing sales tax that generates in excess of $1 million a year in job retention and creation, Blankenship said. Duncan’s economic development sales tax generates about $750,000 a year.

Enid currently does not have a revenue-generating fund or sales tax. Benson said city officials need to contemplate ways to create a revenue-generating fund for economic development efforts.

Moving the Alliance operations to the new development center at Autry Technology Center makes sense, officials say.

“The business incubator is not only a good asset, it’s a natural feed,” Benson said.

The move also would provide some marketing advantages, officials say.

The proposal falls within the Chamber’s community development mission and gives the Chamber the opportunity to concentrate its efforts on workforce recruitment and development, the public school system, branding and marketing entrepreneurial development, retail centers, downtown Enid, affordable quality housing, airport and legislative affairs.

Benson said the city, the Chamber and the Alliance are approaching the effort with the same goal in mind — a bigger commitment to economic development.

“It we want to take this community where it wants to go, we have to provide the necessary assets and provide the right tools for the job,” Benson said.

The city commission will take up the issue of funding the proposal sometime in August, Benson said.