Ventura OKs Hiring of Economic Consultant : Business: The seven council members differ over the job description, but direct staff to seek proposals. They agree to try out the position for a year.

The Ventura City Council early Tuesday agreed to hire an economic consultant to act as a business booster, but council members can’t agree on what exactly the new employee’s duties should be.

For months, council members have debated whether to hire an economic development consultant, but all seven council members have differing ideas on the job description.

Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures, who pushed hardest for hiring a consultant, persuaded most of her colleagues early Tuesday to agree on a yearlong trial for the position. Ventura is the only large city in the county that does not have an economic development consultant or staff person on the city payroll.

City leaders voted 6 to 1 to direct the city manager to solicit proposals from prospective consultants and come back to the council in a month with a recommendation on whom to hire for the pilot program.

“We would be able to design a job description,” Measures said, based on the proposals that are submitted by people interested in the position. Measures, who advocated hiring a consultant during her campaign, said she has not even decided precisely what the consultant will do.

The rest of the council is also undecided. Some say the consultant should concentrate on recruiting companies. A few say the economic coordinator should worry about keeping businesses from moving out of Ventura. Others say the consultant could act as an ombudsman and help businesses get the necessary licenses and permits they need from the city.

Councilman Gary Tuttle, who cast the dissenting vote, said other groups in the community--such as the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Ventura County Economic Development Assn.--already perform many of the functions that a consultant would do.

“I think it’s a fad,” said Tuttle, owner of a small business.

Mayor Tom Buford also expressed doubts before voting to approve the pilot program. A year may be too short a time for any big changes, he said.

“We will be able to say, ‘By golly, we did something for economic development,’ but I don’t think it’s going to be significant,” he said.

*

The council did not discuss how much money the consultant would be paid, and Baker said the amount would probably be suggested by the consultant. The council has received one unsolicited proposal that asks for $6,000 for six months.

Business leaders said they are happy that Ventura is getting more aggressive about wooing business, but criticized the council’s action Tuesday as too vague.

“The position is needed. They talk about hiring someone, but they still seem to be wallowing in what this someone will do,” said Bob Alviani, president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce.

Alviani said the consultant should focus on persuading companies to move to the area. Chamber officials are drafting a job description for the position and will submit it to city officials next week, he said.

“I’m looking at someone who is going to go outside of the county and bring something back,” he said.

Last year, the council allocated money in the 1993-94 budget for such a position, but never filled it, partly because of a hiring freeze. The annual salary ranged from $46,876 to $62,814.

Community Development Director Everett Millais said the position was not filled because the council couldn’t decide on the job description last year either.