Iola and Allen County should be investing more in economic development, City Administrator Matt Rehder said Monday.
Rehder proposed to Iola City Council members the city increase its annual economic development investment from $20,000 to about $50,000, utilizing a tax increase for the funding.
“I think we should start the process,” Rehder said. “We’d be the first entity to make a major commitment to do that.”
Iola wouldn’t be the only local entity to pay more for economic development, Rehder offered, suggesting Allen County and Humboldt do the same.
Currently, Iola, Allen County, and Iola Industries each pay $20,000 to Thrive Allen County for economic development services, while Humboldt pays $10,000.
The $70,000 annual investment is substantially less than some neighboring counties, Rehder said, noting other counties in the region pay as much as $500,000 or $1 million annually.
Rehder’s proposal is that each of the three governmental bodies pay the equivalent of 1.5 mills for economic development. For Iola, that’s about $50,000. Under Rehder’s scenario, Humboldt would pay about $15,000 annually, and Allen County about $230,000, pushing the total investment to about $300,000 a year. “That’s a very good first step.”
Rehder cited results from a workforce labor study completed in 2021 that pointed out how little Iola and Allen County invest when compared to neighboring counties.
“$70,000 doesn’t do it at all,” Rehder said. “$70,000 doesn’t even cover expenses.”
Jonathan Goering, Thrive’s economic development director, has been a stalwart in promoting Iola and Allen County, Rehder continued. “But right now, he does economic development, and he doesn’t leave the county. We want him to go out to trade shows, where he can play up Allen County and Iola in particular. Right now, he doesn’t have the funding to do it.”
Rehder’s proposal found a receptive ear in Mayor Steve French.
“What Matt’s proposing is not astronomical,” French said. “It’s not even what our neighboring counties are doing.
Economic development “is a fierce, competitive market,” French concluded. “We need to fund it if we want to keep our community solvent.”
Rehder said the increase would be presented to Council members in July as they approve the city’s 2023 spending plan for further discussion.
His comments came after the city heard from several other department heads about their respective budgets: City Clerk Roxanne Hutton, Police Chief Jared Warner, Parks Superintendent Berkley Kerr, Fire Chief Corey Isbell, Iola Code Enforcement Officer Gregg Hutton and Assistant City Superintendent Corey Schinstock, representing the administrative department.
