Citing the current strong Cook County/ Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) board and exciting potential it possesses to solve some of the county’s problems like making housing affordable for its often low-paid workforce, Commissioner Jan Sivertson made a motion to give the EDA $267,915 for 2016 at the board’s November 10 meeting. Last year the EDA received $223,000 from the county.
Before making her motion, Sivertson stated, “I’m not in favor of micromanaging the board. I’m also not in favor of cutting their budget request either. In fact, I’m in favor of giving them a 5percent increase if they ask for it.”
Commissioner Heidi Doo-Kirk seconded Sivertson’s motion but the measure failed when Commissioners Garry Gamble, Frank Moe and Ginny Storlie voted against it.
Gamble said it was hard for him to grant the EDA an increase over its 2015 budget request, “when we aren’t increasing other budgets.”
Gamble added that when other budget requests came to the board, commissioners looked over those “line by line,” but the board hadn’t done that with the EDA.
“Where is the discipline and mindset we have on other budgets and not on this?” he asked his fellow board members.
Doo-Kirk, who is the board’s liaison to the EDA, reminded Gamble that the EDA wasn’t a county department and therefore the board wouldn’t necessarily scrutinize this budget in the same way.
Gamble said he would like to pull $36,000 out of the EDA’s budget request that was stipulated to be used to hire an EDA director and then $8,720 from the budget that was to go to the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP).
Following that, Gamble made a motion to grant $221,675 to the EDA for 2016 with Commissioner Frank Moe seconding the motion and Storlie voting in favor, with Doo-Kirk and Sivertson voting against. This motion reduced by $1,900 the amount the county gave to the EDA last year.
At the EDA meeting at Grand Marais City Council chambers later in the afternoon, Commissioner Doo- Kirk shared the county board’s decision on the EDA levy. She noted that the $221,675 approved was less than the EDA’s request of $240,395, but noted that it was only slightly less than the 2015 levy of $223,550 and much better than what some commissioners had suggested on September 8—a zero levy.
Doo-Kirk noted that in the motion put forward by Commissioner Garry Gamble, there was language asking that the EDA cut the $36,000 earmarked for hiring an EDA administrator and $8,720 for Cook County Local Energy Program from its budget.
Doo-Kirk said she believed the EDA could spend its levy funds at its own discretion. The EDA board agreed. Small Business Development Center Representative/ EDA Administrative Assistant Pat Campanaro said figuring out how to make up for the reduction was up to EDA Treasurer Scott Harrison. He will come back to the EDA with ideas to make up the difference.
Harrison asked what the board’s rationale for the cut was and Doo-Kirk said she was not sure.
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