New Village Board to Discuss Economic Development Proposal Tuesday Night

two weeks ago will come to the forefront again Tuesday night as discussions continue over whether Village Hall should become the new home for Oswego's economic development efforts.

The board voted April 19 to suspend its $85,000 contribution to the .—a private/public partnership that works to bring new business to town. Village trustee Tony Giles said at the meeting it's time the village explore all possibilities in the realm of economic development, including bringing the work in-house.

Interim Village Administrator Dwight Baird will deliver a report drawn together by staff to the board at its Committee of the Whole meeting immediately following the swearing in of the new board at 5:30 p.m. in .

The report states that the cost of an economic development manager, plus one part-time employee would cost the village about $137,000 annually. Apart from employee salary, the budget includes marketing, postage, membership dues, printing and conferences. 

The report recommends paying the manager, who would report to Community Development Director Rod Zenner, about $64,000 annually.

Trustee Judy Sollinger, who voted against the 2011-12 budget that suspended the OEDC funding, said at the April 19 meeting she doubted the village could do the job cheaper than what it pays the corporation on an annual basis. 

The report also studies neighboring communities and how they handle economic development. By comparison, the village of Plainfield, with a population of 39,581, runs it operation out of Village Hall with a total of three full-time employees and an annual operating budget of $150,000.

The OEDC has two full-time and two part-time employees with an operating budget of $423,922.

A vote on the OEDC's future could come as early as Tuesday night. If the board should decide to keep its partnership with the OEDC, a budget amendment would need to be made to reinstate the $85,000 in funding.

Editor's note: This story has been changed to accurately reflect the correct spelling of Community Development Director Rod Zenner's name. We regret the error.