County legislator urges annual economic-development goals, sets modest job targets

Legislator Fred Larson urged the Planning and Economic Development Committee to adopt formal annual goals and performance measures before the county executive prepares a tentative budget, saying the 1998 county charter (section 2.05) requires the legislature to do so and that resolutions on goals are not subject to the county executive's veto.

Larson presented a rough draft that lists job creation as the top goal, with an objective of 500 net new jobs in 2025 and 750 net new jobs in 2026. He proposed workforce training targets—100 participants in 2025 and 200 in 2026—and suggested the county consider financial support for Jamestown Community College to expand job-training opportunities. Larson also proposed acquiring land for industrial business parks (100 acres in 2025 and 200 acres in 2026) and making existing county/IDA-owned acreage shovel-ready (a 120-acre target by 2026).

"The 1998 Charter ... says that the county legislature shall adopt by resolution goals and objectives, as well as specific performance measures," Larson said. He cited county employment losses since about 2010 and said the proposed numeric targets are modest in light of a roughly 14,000 decline in employment he attributed to the period since 2010.

Why it matters: the charter language Larson cited assigns the legislature a formal role in setting policy objectives and directs that those resolutions not be subject to veto. Committee members framed the proposal as an attempt to move the legislature from routine, ministerial actions to clearer strategic direction on economic development.

Committee debate focused on the proper level of detail and the legislature's analytic capacity. Legislator Johnson argued the legislature should not