A key funding issue
By JESSICA KELLER - ARGUS OBSERVER
Sunday, September 9, 2007 3:49 AM PDT
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| Construction workers prepare the parking lot for paving at what will soon be the new Heart ‘N Home Hospice in Fruitland Friday. The Payette County Economic Development Department has suffered a funding setback as the three cities involved decided not to budget money directly to the department, although the county’s economic development program will continue. |
PAYETTE - The Payette County Economic Development Department has been restructured and down-sized, at least partly because the area’s three cities, Fruitland, Payette and New Plymouth, chose not to fund it this budget year.
The department consists of the economic development coordinator position, held by Ron Wrest. Wrest works to promote economic development in Payette County — with the help of an advisory board — by seeking out interested companies and trying to set other economic ventures into motion.
Before, each of the three cities have set aside a certain amount from their budgets to go to county coffers to fund the position. In the 2008 fiscal year, however, the county will be funding the position in its entirety.
In the past, the bulk of Wrest’s position was funded by the state, but when Wrest opted to go from full-time to part-time this year to spend more time with his wife, who is seriously ill, the state pulled its funding because the money was designated for a full-time slot.
Now the cities have followed suit, but the reasoning behind their decisions is not clear in some cases.
Payette County Commissioner Larry Church said he thinks he has a good idea why they are not participating, but can only speculate.
“I would assume, if you pull your money, you feel you’re not getting your money’s worth I guess,” Church said.
Fruitland City Clerk Rick Watkins said he cannot comment on why other cities elected to pull their funding.
However, he said cost versus benefits played a role in Fruitland’s discussion before it ceased funding for the program.
“At least with our council, they probably just looked at the cost-to-benefit ratio and decided they’re not really getting the bang for our buck, you know,” Watkins said.
Watkins said the basis of city officials’ reasoning resulted from the uncertainty of whether the county was going to even retain an economic development coordinator when Fruitland was putting together its budget.
Watkins said the matter was sort of in limbo, and city officials decided they would hold off from budgeting any money for the county this year.
The past two budget years, the city had contributed $10,000 to the county for the position. In the 2004 to 2005 budget year, when the position was just starting up, the city contributed $4,000.
Watkins said, however, while no money was budgeted, it does not necessarily mean the city is unwilling to put forth any funds to the county.
He said if county officials approached the city with a developed plan that sounded reasonable to the council, city officials would most likely approve giving the county money.
“I guess they’d probably have to make a case as to what the benefits would be to the city of Fruitland,” Watkins said. “I don’t know if it would be to the amount that they’ve done in the past. They’d just have to take a look at it.”
He said the city does have the funding available, although it is not specifically earmarked for the economic development department.
Like Fruitland, Payette contributed $10,000 to the county’s economic development department in the last budget cycle, and Church said those two cities were the major contributors monetarily in the past.
While Church maintains Payette did not choose to participate as it had before by putting money from its coffers to the economic development program, Payette Mayor Doug Henderson said the city has not abandoned economic development altogether.
Henderson said during the budget cycle, the city designated $7,500 to go toward economic development.
He did not specify whether those funds would go to the county, but said “no decision has been made one way or the other exactly where or if that’s going to get disbursed.”
Henderson refused to comment on the economic development coordinator position or the county’s program as it stands, and said only “I have some issues with this one.”
New Plymouth Mayor Scott Moscrip, who is currently out of town, could not be reached for comment.
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