Economic Development Corp. Gets Funding Lifeline

The . has managed to hold on for a few more weeks as Village Board trustees and staff work to find answers to the questions raised in a wide-ranging two-hour discussion at Tuesday's board meeting.

The debate ended with the board voting 4-3 (with trustees Tony Giles, Terry Michels and Jeff Lawson voting no and Village President Brian LeClercq casting the tie-breaking vote) to pay the OEDC what it is due from the first of the year through the end of May.

That vote came after a motion for a vote from Giles during the regular board meeting to bring both economic development and the functions under the auspices of the village. 

Giles' proposal included a total of $205,000 in funding for both. The board to suspend the village's $85,000 annual contribution to the OEDC and launch a study about bringing economic development in-house.

Interim Village Administrator Dwight Baird presented a study Tuesday at the board's Committee of the Whole meeting completed by staff  showing that the village would need to spend $205,000 annually to bring both functions in-house. 

Giles withdrew his motion after it was discovered that the village already had paid its contribution to the Visitors Bureau for the year through hotel/motel tax funds and that $205,000 would be too much to fund both operations through the end of the year. 

Board members agreed to discuss the matter again at their June 7 meeting after funding and additional questions had been answered.

Having their say

Notable supporters of the OEDC addressed the board during the Committee of the Whole meeting and the regular board meeting that followed. Oswego Community Unit School District 308 Supt. Dan O'Donnell, who sits on the OEDC board, OEDC board member and developer Angelo Kleronomos, Oswego Chamber of Commerce Director Steve Hatcher, local business owners and residents all tried to convince trustees that the public/private partnership that exists between the village and the OEDC is the best way to bring new business to town.

OEDC Director Michael Cassa and the organization's board of directors came under fire from Giles, Michels, Lawson and Scott Volpe for most of the discussion. They were criticized for everything from a lack of transparency in the organization's operating budget to an outdated OEDC website, to complaints that Cassa had missed too many Village Board meetings and not fostered good communication with the board.

Cassa and OEDC Board Chairman Mike Schoppe pledged better communication with the board and said trustees are now welcome to view the detailed OEDC budget whereas in the past they were not. 

"You are our top investor; you are our indispensable partner," Cassa told the board. "My job is to make sure that our partner is getting the benefits and information they need, and that's my pledge to you."

Michels, who pressed Schoppe on the transparency of the OEDC budget, addressed the local business owners in attendance, assuring them that he's not interested in "eradicating" the OEDC.

"Nor am I not looking to make a pledge to you that this community stands behind you and your business," he said. "We want you to succeed and we want more economic development in the community.

"... My position is to see [economic development] where it's 100 percent [the focus of] an individual who doesn't have to worry about where to get the funding to make this happen,. ... We want a full-time person who's going to work diligently on your behalf to bring in more business."

Johnson gets to work

Newly sworn in trustee Gail Johnson opened trustee comments during the Committee of the Whole meeting with what she saw as the three issues that are driving the debate.

The first is the philosophical argument concerning the effectiveness of public/private partnerships; the second is the idea of placing an additional burden on taxpayers by spending more village money for economic development; and the third is that if the transition were made to Village Hall, taking the time to do it right over the course of the next six months while still funding the OEDC.

Johnson also asked Volpe, who has said he's concerned about the lack of information coming to trustees from the OEDC, exactly what he's looking for.

"One of the things I kind of harp on in private about is the need for more metrics," he said. "I don't need to know that we're talking with XYZ company; I need to know that we're talking to five companies who are looking at three locations and what other cities we're competing with. ... I'm having a hard time getting that information."

Johnson also pressed trustees on the political philosophy of limited government.

"Making government bigger isn't something that I thought the majority of this board was in favor of," she said. "I find it a little bit ironic that I would be beating the drum to keep government small."

Michels said the idea behind bringing economic development in house had more to do with control and accountability:

"I'll go on record as saying that I'm willing to spend more money to finance an economic development department that we have control over than what we currently pay to the OEDC, because I think it's that important for this community to continue to grow."