Given the economic climate of today, and the fact that the Surry County Economic Development Commission is, at present, searching for a president, this is a wise move.
To be sure this is not a time to find additional ways to spend money, but in truth this is not so much an expenditure as an investment. If there is one thing the city needs, above all else, it would be jobs. Becoming a little more proactive in this process would be a wise investment of the city’s funds.
But, that doesn’t mean the money set aside for this purpose should be spent in any way but the most frugal and efficient manner.
The city commissioners opted to have Martin Collins, the city’s community development director, take on these duties, and be in charge of the budget set aside for these efforts.
By all accounts Collins would seem to be a solid choice. He is already performing some economic development work in his present role, and everyone who spoke to the idea had nothing but glowing comments regarding Collins and his work.
We would suggest, however, that the city provide for some training for Collins, aimed specifically at economic recruitment strategies. It might also be a wise move to have Collins and potentially other city officials spend some time in other communities that have been successful in recovering from the type of economic setbacks now facing Mount Airy.
Economic development is an intensely competitive, highly specialized field. Putting an ad in a magazine, or finding some national database that might have leads, as some suggested during a Board of Commissioners meeting last week, seems an expensive and potentially wasteful effort.
Rather than try a scattershot approach, as this would be, why not learn from what others have done, and then put together strategies aimed at specific industries?
If the city’s going to spend the money — and it should — then everything possible should be done to ensure a good return on that investment.
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