VENTURA : Council to Look at Economic Goals

Ventura City Council members will consider four options Monday night on how they can better identify their economic goals and objectives.

The council wants to hire a consultant to suggest ways to recharge the city’s economy by attracting new businesses to Ventura. But first, some council members said, the council needs to agree on what kind of economy it would like to have.

City staff members will present four ways on how the council can prepare to meet with a consultant:

* The council can ask another city or cities with experience in establishing an economic development program to allow their staff members to meet with Ventura’s staff and council members.

* The city could enlist the help of the California Local Economic Development Assn., a nonprofit, Sacramento-based group that provides communities with professional advice on how to achieve economic objectives.

* The council could hire a preliminary consultant to prepare for the more permanent consultant the city plans to enlist.

* The council could ask city staff members to write a policy statement on proposed economic goals.

The city manager has advised council members, however, not to choose the fourth option because he does not believe city staff members have the proper expertise for the job.

Hiring the nonprofit group would cost the city about $500, City Manager John Baker said. Bringing in staff members from other cities would probably only be the cost of their transportation, he said. Baker said he did not yet know how much a consultant might cost.

Mayor Tom Buford said he would like more discussion of the city’s economic goals before the council hires a development coordinator.

“We need to better identify what our goals and objectives are,” Buford said. “We really have different ideas and perspectives on what should be done.”