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EDA director urges a 2–5 year economic development roadmap with KPIs, council asks for funding options
Summary
Heather, economic development director, proposed a 2–5 year strategy prioritizing primary job recruitment, lowering commercial vacancy and creating a replenishable incentive fund tied to performance. Council discussed policy guardrails, TIF and a workshop to define objectives.
Heather (economic development staff) told council the city needs a two‑to‑five year economic development road map with measurable KPIs to shift from reactive to proactive recruiting. She said the strategy should target primary industry to produce livable‑wage jobs, reduce office and retail vacancy, and include a sustainable incentive funding stream.
Councilmembers asked for guardrails and flexibility so the city does not lose deals while maintaining accountability. Staff suggested performance‑based incentives and clear timelines for approvals to make the process predictable; Heather recommended marketing and partnerships with UCO and other stakeholders to retain daytime population and grow sales tax revenue.
Council asked staff to draft a 2–5 year plan with recommended KPIs (occupancy/vacancy, jobs added, sales tax/economic impact) and to return with funding options and an implementation timeline.
Next steps: EDA to draft the road map and KPIs for council review and propose an engagement plan and funding approach.
