SYRACUSE -- Getting the city's economy on track is going to take bringing in a new hire worth his or her weight in gold. The city, after receiving more than 40 applications for its newly created economic development director position, then interviewing 10 of them, is ready to extend a job offer to the top applicant this week, said Mayor Jamie Nagle.
The hope is to have someone in the position by the first of September, she said.
The person filling the new position will receive a yearly salary of $58,000 to $83,000, pending city council approval, Nagle said.
That puts the position in the same salary range as what the city is paying its new finance manager, she said.
It will be the duty of the economic development director to grow the city's commercial and residential development at a manageable rate, Nagle said.
She said this is something of a necessity if the city is to resolve its tight budget issues going into the future.
"I want to be able to send the signal out that we are open for business," Nagle said. "We're serious about it."
Creating the position of economic development director means the city has someone whose "primary objective" is to build a healthy economy that has a balance of commercial and residential development, Nagle said.
The move is necessary to avoid overburdening residents with new taxes, she said.
City officials, in addition to finding a $900,000 deficit in park impact fees because of costs associated with the Jensen Nature Park, have found that the city has been using 50 percent to 65 percent of its B and C state road funds to pay the salaries of its public works employees.
In comparison, Layton city uses about 5 percent of the funds it receives from the state for personnel wages.
The quality of the applicants interviewed, said Councilman Doug Hammond, will provide the city with a viable candidate for the job. "We had really a good quality of applicants."
Hammond, Nagle and Councilman Larry Shingleton took part in interviewing the applicants.
"The key is the title of the position. We want sound economic development for our city," Hammond said.
One way the city council would like to help the new hire is by significantly reducing its park and culinary water impact fees being charged to new development in an effort to fill some of the residential vacant lots in the city.
The one-time park impact fee for new residential development would be reduced from $2,206 to $1,271, while the culinary water impact fee would be reduced from $1,815 to $966.
"Those are the two we could do right away before revisiting the city's level of service," Nagle said. "We are going to plan our growth and be smart about it."
That isn't to say previous councils did not perform their duties in managing city growth, Nagle said, but in prior years, the city had such "explosive growth" that the council was forced to deal with it through crisis management.
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