What happened
At the special City Council meeting June 18, Place 5 council member Evan Porterfield led a discussion asking the Economic Development Corporation to prioritize road and water infrastructure, as well as attracting a new grocery store.
“As our city grows, the EDC is obviously a vital part of that, so I think we need to look at honing them in and giving them that clear and concise direction for what we’d like to see them do,” Porterfield said.
Mayor Mike Snyder directed city staff to come back with a motion that sets the economic development policy for next year with these suggestions as the primary focus.
“Without water and wastewater and roads, you won’t have new development,” Snyder said.
What they’re saying
Place 1 council member Brian Thompson suggested that the council refer to the new EDC strategic plan presented last month in order to avoid redundancies. City Council meets with the EDC quarterly, he said.
“That may lend some insight into the direction this council would like to provide to the EDC,” Thompson said.
Also on the agenda
Much of the discussion at the June 18 meeting centered around establishing expectations going into the next budget season, including Snyder and Porterfield cosigning a resolution to have a no-new-revenue budget focused on infrastructure.
“We don’t need to spin our wheels and waste time,” Porterfield said. “We need to be efficient and get things done.”
Thompson said he would not be voting in favor of the resolution on account of not having seen what the fiscal year 2025-26 budget would entail.
“This is extremely irresponsible of us to be deciding something like this now,” Thompson said.
The resolution passed 5-2, with Thompson and Mayor Pro Tem Peter Gordon voting against. City Attorney Dorothy Palumbo said that the council is still within its parameters to adopt a tax rate above no-new-revenue if the need arises.
One more thing
The city also voted unanimously to create an Accountability and Efficiency Commission, to be run by resident volunteers.
"The boards and commissions are a fantastic opportunity to serve," Porterfield said. "They are a fantastic opportunity to learn what we do here at the city, what your council does, what staff does, what is going on, how you can get involved and how you can help shape that."
Snyder said he envisions the commission to bring change and collaboration, and not be as "political" as the federal Department of Government Efficiency.
"I don't want to be like what the state and federal government is doing, because I think that is a waste of time," he said.
