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The Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida has officially signed an ordinance to end the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
The Office of Economic Development will in turn take place of the old Economic Development Commission. The city council ultimately approved the brand new legislation as the Mayor wanted to streamline the city government.
Mayor Alvin Brown states that the ordinance is more than a policy as it aims to further improve the structure. The new Office of Economic Development will assist many business leaders as nearly 38,000 people are out of work and are looking for companies to open up doors.
A brand new Chief Economic Development Officer will ultimately be appointed to the Office of Economic Development but the Mayor will still need to improve the new post.
Some of the duties of the new Chief Economic Development Officer include:
- Day to day duties
- Enterprise zone management
- Incentive Negotiation
- Attracting special events and entertainment
A Council Member whose name is Lori Boyer met with the President of the Council whose name is Bill Bishop to discuss the reorganization plan. The plan will ultimately create the Downtown Investment Authority. The Investment Authority will serve as the redevelopment agency for the downtown region and sole development.
Council Member Lori Boyer made sure to make changes to the ordinance in regards to “Powers and Duties” of the authority that is in control. Boyer wanted to also change the way in which the authorities borrowed money. Boyer pinpoints that the city has debt ceiling complications and that they should not have an unrestricted authority to borrow money. It can become potentially disastrous to the local region of Jacksonville if the city is allowed unrestricted power to money. The borrowing ability should ultimately be limited to the trust fund.
Overall, the new Office of Economic Development is going to be a positive asset to Jacksonville.
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