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JOED seeks multi‑year funding; staff proposes $100,000 annual Jacksonville contribution and a $100,000 downtown loan pool
Summary
Staff briefed council on JOED’s strategic plan and a multi‑year, per‑capita funding proposal: $400,000 requested from the county and a $100,000 annual request from Jacksonville (city has already contributed $40,000 in FY26 and staff asked for a $60,000 appropriation to complete FY26). Staff also proposed $100,000 from the economic impact fund to seed a downtown Community Business Loan Fund.
City staff provided an update from JOED (the local economic development entity), summarized its new strategic plan and asked council for feedback on a proposed multi‑year, per‑capita funding strategy.
Staff stated that the funding request presented to Onslow County was $400,000 per year and that Jacksonville’s share would be $100,000 annually. "The funding request that we had for them was $400,000 a year," staff said. The presenter told council Jacksonville already contributed $40,000 in fiscal year 2026 and that staff would seek a $60,000 appropriation to make FY26 whole, with $100,000 requests planned for fiscal 2027 and 2028.
Council members and business representatives expressed support for JOED’s refocused operations and noted that seed funding from private partners (Truist, Duke Energy) has helped a Community Business Loan Fund be productive. Staff proposed using $100,000 from the city’s economic impact fund (combining held and planned contributions) to capitalize a small‑business loan pool for downtown building owners and operators; staff said an agreement and a budget amendment would return to council for formal approval.
A council participant who identified support for JOED said, "Joette has done some really good things over the years in our community," and encouraged the city to move forward with a balanced per‑capita funding approach. Staff said they would present the funding agreements and any required budget amendments at a future meeting for formal action.
The discussion closed with council consensus to have staff bring back the required documents for a formal vote at the next council meeting.
