By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 29, 2012 The first hint came when the city manager said: “This might not be the best model for the organization. The Burlington Economic Development Corporation is currently an arm’s length one and they have a specific mandate and we have to decide if that is the mandate it should have and then determine how well it is being met.
The comments were made during a Special Council meeting that had the words “Board of Directors” at the top of an Agenda rather than the words City Council.
Kyle Benham, Executive Director, Burlington Economic Development Corporation. Thinking through a Prosperity Index.
Burlington Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Kyle Benham was explaining how his organization works with the different economic sectors to keep an eye open for new business opportunities for the city as well as keeping in touch with those already here and growing. With a Strategic Plan in place that calls for a prosperous community – Benham and his crew are expected to kick in and be a large part of creating that prosperity. So far it hasn’t worked and many are wondering if the city manager might have a point – the model we are using may not be quite right.
There hasn’t been a major new business brought to the city for some time, and worse, several we may have had a chance with that got away on us. There doesn’t seem to be a solid, credible program in place to attract people to this city.
When Money Sense magazine declared Burlington was the 2nd best city in the country to live in the BEDC put out a special press release labelled Important Announcement! That seems to be the level at which the organization works; putting out press release “full of sound and fury but signifying nothing”. Many realize that the Money Sense “listing” is a public relations game and not something that one takes seriously or builds a marketing campaign on.
Mayor Goldring however is going to trot out that listing every opportunity he gets – he did it today at the networking luncheon.
Earlier in the day that Benham delivered his presentation the city’s Auditor, Sheila Jones, had given the meeting a solid explanation as to just what her job was and what she wasn’t there to do. While most tend to see auditors as people who count the money and make sure it was spent properly and then, as Councillor Blair Lancaster commented: “They tell you what you can and cannot do.” Jones explained that auditors do much more than that. We will tell the Jones story in more detail on another occasion – it’s impressive and if followed through on Burlington will see a much more professional level of accountability.
The BEDC is in an awkward situation. The model they work within has them holding events to raise much of their revenue. The organization is reported to raise more than 55% of its revenue through various events it holds which range from the four Imagine, Ignite, Innovate Luncheons which are known generically as the Mayor’s Networking Series. Then there are the two Economic Outlook Breakfasts and the Signature event – the Entrepreneur of the Year Celebration which is really more of a Lifetime Achievement Award.
These events suck up much of the available staff time and many wonder if these events are really a meeting of the mandate – which is to bring new business to Burlington. Each of the events are good networking occasions – but just how many networking events does the business community need each year and isn’t this something the Chamber of Commerce is already doing?
With PROSPERITY a key word in the Strategic Plan it was felt it would be useful to have a Prosperity Index that would pull together a collection of reliable data that would, in an instant, tell business people how the city was doing economically. Benham struggled with explanations as to how such an index would be put together; one didn’t get the sense that we were going to see anything useful very soon.
There is development taking place but too much of it is public sector development that creates jobs until the task is done - doesn't create long term well paying jobs - and that is what economic development is all about.
In one part of the presentation Benham asked: “What are the key objectives of an Index? And then went on to list the following: Common Focus on Strategic Objectives, Greater Accountability, High Performance Governance, Evidence based decision making.
These are first year commerce student platitudes. An Index is a measure. Show how many widgets were made last month and how many were made this month and ask why the difference. And did we manage to sell the widgets we made.
These are the questions and answers the manufacturers along Mainway want and it is what they are entitled to from an organization in place to aid in the development of the local economy. It isn’t an easy job. Everyone out there realizes that manufacturing as we have known it in Ontario is a thing of the past. And everyone wants those high paying, high tech, clean jobs. Those jobs will go to the community that offers the most to the companies looking for a place to live and a place to grow – and they aren’t all that impressed with a sign that says -We are the 2nd best place to live in the country.
Economic development may indeed be more efficiently and effectively delivered if it is run from City Hall.
