Written by After supporting it financially for nearly 33 years, the city of Marion has announced that it is cutting ties–at least financially–with Marion CAN DO!, its public-private economic development partner.
Hailed as the solution to Marion’s economic development problems when it was launched in 1992, the city has very little to show for all the taxpayer funds that have been funneled into the organization, which is currently without a leader at the helm.
Searching for a solution to the economic doldrums, which have been pervasive in Marion for 50 years, the Collins Administration has pitched the idea of creating a brand-new Director of Economic Development position, which will report directly to Mayor Collins.
The idea behind the proposal is that by creating this position and placing it under the mayor, there will be more accountability and control by city leadership. No longer will a private organization, which is subsidized by local government–but not necessarily accountable to it–be in charge of the city’s growth and economic development.
Under the proposal, the mayor would hire this individual and he or she would be paid an annual salary of up to $120,000 plus benefits. Responsibility for the individual’s salary would be split between the city of Marion and Marion County.
As proposed by the mayor, the PREFERRED qualifications of the position include: 1) a bachelor’s degree with coursework in Public or Business Administration or a related field; 2) three years’ experience in economic development or a related field; 3) economic development certification(s), such as Certified Economic Developer; and 4) a valid Ohio driver’s license.
City Council reviewed the mayor’s proposal during Monday night’s meeting.
Councilman Thaddaeus Smith (R-5th Ward) proposed several changes, including changing the requirement of education from “preferred” to “required,” adding a requirement that the candidate reside in Marion County within 180 days of appointment, and adding another requirement that the candidate provide quarterly reports on progress to Council’s Jobs & Economic Development Committee.
There was no contention with the requirement for updates and that amendment was approved without issue.
However, Law Director Mark Russell quickly put the kybosh on the residency requirement. Although it could list residency as a preferred qualification, due to restrictions placed by the Ohio Revised Code and a 2009 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the city is prohibited from making residency a requirement of the position.
The suggested revision of the education qualification raised concern by the mayor.
“In all of the research we did, 80% of the economic development directors that communities ended up with didn’t go to college to be an economic development director. They were doing another position in the city, or maybe owned a car dealership or something like that, or were in the business community,” Collins said.
Marion Watch looked into that issue and, as you can see from the attached chart, most Economic Development directors currently employed by cities with a comparable population to Marion possess a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree, which is a graduate-level professional degree focused on leadership and management in the public and non-profit sectors.
Considering that the salary being proposed by the city is quite generous, perhaps the city should demand that its future Director of Economic Development be REQUIRED to possess, at a minimum, a Master of Public Administration or a Master of City & Regional Planning, as well as a minimum of three–or maybe even five–years of direct work experience and demonstrated success in public sector economic development.
Additionally, to ensure that the candidates are fully vetted and the very best candidate selected, perhaps the proposal should be amended to allow the mayor to appoint the director only with confirmation by council.
When asked by Councilwoman Twila Laing (R-4th Ward) how the position will be funded by the city, Mayor Collins replied that he wasn’t “100% positive” where the money will come from. He was, however, quite confident that “we will get there.”
“I’d like to tell you that I know exactly where our money’s at now, but I can’t. And hopefully we’ll know that here in the near future. But it’s certainly a concern,” he said.
With 33 years of undeniable failure by Marion CAN DO!, the city of Marion needs to make sure that it makes the right decision. It must hire the right person and ensure a framework of accountability with that position.