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Rolling Meadows leans on staff and Chamber for business recruitment as EDC activity wanes
Summary
City staff described an ongoing shift to a staff-led Economic Development Team that works closely with the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce; the city cited faster response times, data-driven outreach and the addition of a new assistant to the City Manager to support business engagement.
City staff described a move away from a volunteer Economic Development Committee toward a staff-led Economic Development Team that includes the City Manager, the Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director, a Planner/Management Analyst and an Assistant to the City Manager. City Manager Rob Sabo said contemporary economic development is "data-driven" and relies on "consistent, responsive, and professionally staffed engagement," language recorded in the minutes.
The minutes show the city has increased its partnership with the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce: the City Manager serves on the Chamber board and staff regularly attend Chamber events to gather input and amplify business-related messaging. Sabo told council that the staff-led model allows for "timely decision-making, continuity, and alignment with broader City goals and policies." The minutes also note that staff will focus on keeping online information current and improving communications with the business community following the onboarding of a new Assistant to the City Manager.
Sabo and the minutes referenced examples of peer municipalities that do not maintain standing economic development committees and instead rely on staff and targeted stakeholder engagement; the minutes list Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Glenview, Itasca, Lake Zurich, Northbrook, Palatine, Roselle and Wheeling as comparators. The record indicates that city staff will preliminarily review incentive requests and then present them to City Council for final action if the EDC is dissolved.
