FARMINGTON — The Greater Franklin Development Council has submitted a proposal for the county to advertise for economic development services, Executive Director Alison Hagerstrom said.

Commissioners asked the council’s board of directors in October 2016  to develop a proposal after council members suggested that the service be contracted rather than put in the budget as a program grant.

The council, previously known as Greater Franklin Development Corp., received a program grant of $42,000 this year, less than the $60,000 requested.

“I think we need to look at what we will be funding in program grants,” Commissioner Charles Webster of Farmington said Tuesday.

The point of the proposal is to get economic development out of program grants, Hagerstrom said Tuesday.

“We are not a social service,” she said. “For Franklin County not to have economic development would be devastating.”

Hagerstrom said she received a phone call Monday from a man who was looking to move his business to the Franklin County region.

In December 2016, someone was looking for a place to buy to set up a business, she said. There was no turnkey place available that met the business’ specifications, she said.

She asked who business representatives would call and who would get the information to them if there is no designated economic development entity.

“You need a key contact person,” she said.

Hagerstrom is retiring in August after more than a decade at the helm of the organization.

The council has been instrumental in trying to develop a local entrepreneurial culture. It has partnered with others and hosted events to help entrepreneurs connect and move their businesses forward.

“We do that in partnership but we take a lead,” she said. “Who is going to lead that kind of effort?”

The council is looking for more stable funding and plans to submit a proposal to contract with the county to provide economic development services.

“We might win it with our experience and we might not,” council board member Ed David said.

If commissioners decide not to go forward with economic development it will have far-reaching consequences, he said.

The organization broke away from being a county entity years ago, thinking it would be able to attract more private and business funding. With the economic situation in the area, it has not worked as well as hoped, he said.

It takes three to five years to bring a business here, Hagerstrom said.

She said they need to be creative and think of new ways to strengthen the economy.

Webster said they need to take a look at how they use taxpayers’ money. He previously said he did not think it was a good use of it.

“Economic development is one way to make counties strong and resilient,” Hagerstrom said. “A lot of people support us.”

She gave commissioners a 2014 report from the National Association of Commissioners on research it did in partnership with the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Hagerstrom cited passages in the document, “Strong Economies, Resilient Counties – The Role of Counties in Economic Development,” which stated that “counties are sponsors of economic development initiatives.” It can be found at www.naco.org/StrongEconomies.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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