Desperately Seeking: Economic Development Manager

City council has set aside $170,000 for the future economic development manager,  a person whose main goal will be to attract new business to Petaluma as outlined in the economic development plan passed in November.

The position, which has been vacant since 2006, will pay up to $126,800, with the rest of the money being used for supplies and services, said City Manager John Brown.

Meanwhile, the senior redevelopment program manager position, which has roughly the same pay scale and which has been vacant since 2006, will be cut.

"It's similar, but the economic development manager has a broader set of responsibilities specifically emphasizing economic development," Brown said.

The city has launched a search for the candidate and hopes to fill the position by February. The salary is consistent with those in neighboring communities, including $119,000 in Sonoma, $107,00 in Concord and $142,000 in Hayward for the position, according to Brown.

The economic development plan, which cost $145,000 and took more than a year to complete, focuses on eight target areas. These include a "business attraction campaign" that would target specific industries, such as food and beverage processing, information technology, diversified manufacturing, hospitality and health and wellness.

All of these sectors, with the exception of health, have lost jobs in the past two years, with manufacturing and retail taking the biggest hits. A total of 17,000 jobs have been lost in the past two years, according to the report, authored by Applied Development Economics, a consulting group.

Among other suggestions of the plan:

• building high-end lodging downtown on par with the Sheraton
• repurposing vacant buildings for use for municipal offices or organizations,
• creating a pipeline from area schools such as Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University to meet the needs of employers. In one assessment, the study concludes that "the local education system is not preparing students to qualify for high-paying jobs in the IT sector."