I spoke at the City Commission on Tuesday, July 8th, about one of the most important positions that will help bring down property taxes in Lawrence, a position that has not been filled in almost 2 years:
I wanted to continue on what Mr. McGuire, Commissioner Littlejohn, and Commissioner Sellers discussed earlier.
As part of the budget, there is also the need to bring in more revenue to the community. As you know we currently have a 70 / 30 residential to commercial split which puts more pressure on property taxes.
One of the key positions that needs to be filled is the:
Director of Economic Development
This position is not on the City’s job website. I was able to find it by searching through other job sites.
The job description reads like someone who will have a nice desk here at City Hall. This is not what we need.
We need to think differently about this position. This position needs to be a hunter, sales-driven and focused. Someone incentivized to bring in deals and who is plugged in at the commercial and private sector level to the greater Kansas City market.
This person should be the bridge between the City, Chamber, and EDC. They would also work to update the City’s Economic Development information. The reports and information on the City’s website have not been updated in over 2 years.
This person’s sole mission would be to deliver tangible wins for Lawrence. They should work on landing marquee businesses from the Kansas City region, like Garmin, Honeywell, AMC; a Fintech company like H&R Block, SS&C, or Jack Henry; a tech company like Google or Oracle; or an Animal Health company like Merck, Hills, or Dechra (Deck-ra). This would provide our high school and college students rich internship possibilities and provide a private sector career path for Lawrencians.
This person would be key to a long-term goal of bringing the residential to commercial split into a more appropriate 60 / 40 range, which in itself would provide property tax relief to all Lawrencians.
Thank you!