Op-Ed: Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce Sets Transparency Example for City
On January 22nd and September 24th, the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce gave several informative presentations to the City Council on how economic opportunities and growth have been enhanced by this partnership.
Our residents expect this level of organizational transparency from our City as well.
2.4_PowerPoint CHAMBERCOMMERCE
When the new City Manager came onboard just over a year ago, he hired an Economic Development Manager to join his team. City of Irvine Website This newly created position is costing the City approximately $227,800 annually.
On April 15, the Finance Commission wanted to know what economic development projects were being worked on and specifically asked for “quantifiable results” that enhanced city revenue. However, this was not provided, prompting the Finance Commission to request quarterly updates going forward for accountability.
The Economic Development Manager has held this position for 14 months yet has not made a single presentation at public meetings. The City created this position, again, adding over a quarter of a million dollars annually during a period of budget cuts. Therefore, shouldn’t we know how this money is being spent?
2 Comments
Branda Lin
October 11, 2019 at 8:31 amThe Greater Irvine Chamber is a great example of the type of work and presentations we should be seeing from our Economic Development Manager. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t recall any presentations to our City Council since this new position was created last year. Thank you Greater Irvine Chamber for your great work!
Susan Sayre
October 11, 2019 at 9:08 amThe Economic Development Manager should also be responsible for managing the Economic Development of the Great Park. This should relieve John Russo, our City Manager and Great Park Director, of some of his responsibilities. We need much more clarity on the financial development and financial management of the Great Park.
I also hope that our Economic Development Manager has some expertise in, and responsibility for, obtaining sponsorship for various city and Great Park functions and amenities. I anxiously the Economic Development Manager’s presentations at City Council Meetings and Great Park Board meetings.
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