Erie's Mayor Moore Describes Economic Development

This weekend Erie Mayor Andrew Moore sent out an update with details to a joint Town Board/Planning Board meeting Several topics discussed were spurred on by the responses to a town-wide survey, which had over 400 responses. See a document with the survey responses here.

Mayor Moore had this comment regarding the survey:

Input on Economic development was both the most sparse and diverse with comments and opinions. This clarifies two things:
1. There does not appear to be a comprehensive understanding of Erie's economic picture and strategy
2. A few feel a sense of "losing opportunity" or "running out of money"
Both of these conclusions mean the town and I need do a better job communicating about this topic. For those feeling we are in dire straights, please know we are financially sound and there are no plans, or even discussions, to raise taxes. As you will see below, Erie is actually in a good financial position with substantial reserves, a solid revenue stream, and has long term prospects that are robust.

He also described the group's discussions:

The Board discussed adopting a more aggressive incentive package similar to Lafayette's. Their strategy basically provides for a private corporate safety net with tax payer guarantees. Currently Lafayette has ~$5 million tax payer dollars backing Albertson's, Ace, and the South Boulder road development. If
these fail, taxpayer money is lost.

We choose not to go this route for a few reasons. First, there is no evidence to suggest a more aggressive incentive strategy will do anything to attract businesses in Erie before they can be profitable. Second, Erie has a couple revenue streams that are solid and allow us to be patient. And last Erie, unlike Lafayette and Louisville, does not need as large of revenue stream because our library and fire department are served by special districts not funded by the town.

The full update will be available on his website; as of tonight it still wasn't up but I would expect it there soon. Check his update archives here. Mayor Moore's website is the most comprehensive effort to provide info by an elected official I can find locally.