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Swansea trustees forward economic‑developer job description after debate over duties, funding and metrics
Summary
Trustees voted to forward an edited economic‑developer job description to the board after discussing salary, benefit costs (~$100,000 fully loaded), possible funding splits, education/experience requirements and performance metrics; the communications coordinator position was held pending further budget review.
Trustees forwarded an edited job description for a proposed economic‑developer position after extended discussion about duties, funding sources and how to measure success.
Staff estimated a fully‑loaded annual cost for the role at roughly $100,000 (salary plus family health coverage). Proposed funding sources discussed included a 15% contribution from a business‑district enterprise fund, 15% from the TIF (tax increment financing) district, about 20% from the sewer enterprise fund and the balance from the general fund; trustees were told hiring mid‑year could result in roughly a $25,000 impact to the general fund in the first hire year. Several trustees suggested adding a business degree or equivalent to the preferred qualifications and discussed whether to include performance measures or incentives tied to measurable outreach, trade shows, or business retention metrics.
Trustees debated whether marketing and communications duties should be bundled with economic development or split into two roles. Several trustees said the economic developer should 'hustle' and be able to network and 'close deals'; others urged clear coordination with a communications coordinator to avoid duplicated or clashing campaigns. The board ultimately approved forwarding the economic‑developer job description with edits (including business coordination language and flexibility for equivalent experience), and agreed to hold the communications coordinator position for the near term because it was not currently budgeted.
Trustees also discussed vehicle/mileage policies for the role (village vehicle vs mileage reimbursement) and the need to develop KPIs before hiring. A motion to forward the edited job description to the board carried; no hire occurred at the meeting.
