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County to seek economic strategy advice
Clarke County officials are working on a proposal to hire a consultant to help decide what economic development strategy would best enhance the county's tax base.Joint Administrative Services Director Thomas Judge is preparing a request for proposals, with a goal of soliciting the service within the next couple of months, County Administrator David Ash said late last week.
In anticipation of that, the county’s Economic Development Advisory Committee has decided to await the results of the consultant’s findings before moving ahead on the issue.
“Our goal is to expand the net tax base,” said Supervisor J. Michael Hobert (D-Berryville), who serves as the Board of Supervisors’ liaison with the advisory group.
While some economic development activities might be interesting, Hobert said, these “don’t all necessarily result in an increased tax base to pay for our schools and . . .other county programs that are needed.”
So the county’s first step, he added, must be to determine the most appropriate strategy to achieve its goal.
The consultant will also be asked to identify strategies that were rejected and explain why, Hobert said.
For example, Hobert added, if the consultant were to find that tourism would not be a beneficial strategy to pursue, county officials would need to know why the consultant thought there was no way to capture those dollars.
Once a consultant is retained, county officials would expect that firm or individual to gain an understanding of the county’s comprehensive plan, resources, and potential, Hobert said.
The consultant would also be expected to talk with members of the advisory committee, the Industrial Development Authority, county supervisors, Ash, and Commissioner of the Revenue Warren Arthur and then generate a report to outline potential strategies, the selection of the strategy or strategies to follow, and those rejected and the reasons why.
Once a strategy is selected, Hobert said, a job description and qualifications could be created to hire an economic development director to do the job.
That step is important, he explained, “Because one strategy might not generate the same kind of . . . job description that another might require.”
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of operation,” he said. For example, he added, a strategy to create jobs requires a different focus than one to promote tourism.
The consultant also could be asked to help develop a work plan to implement the strategy, Hobert said.
The consultant could be paid for with funds that have been generated from the sale of lots in the county’s business park, Hobert added.
Calling Clarke County “unique,” Hobert said, “We are not a community that we want just any industrial plant to move in . . . (or a community) that has demographics that are going to support huge amounts of retail.”
“We’ve got to figure out what niches are available to us,” Hobert said, adding these could be in agriculture or tourism.
“We need to evaluate them critically and know where we can get the biggest bang for our buck, for the taxpayer’ s buck,” he added.
“I’m hoping that we can have something to show for this in the next six months,” Hobert said.
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
Here we go, yet again.....How many years has it been?
Posted by retreatdweller
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