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07/22/2024 01:12 PMIn an effort to promote development and manage relationships with the local business community, the search is on in Clinton for a part-time economic development coordinator.
The idea for the position, which would function as someone to act as a liaison between the Clinton business community and the town, dates back several years, first broached in 2021. At that time, former Town Manager Karl Kilduff said, “The intent of the position would be to better connect with existing businesses to understand their needs [and] growth opportunities and aid in navigating the process to foster expansion of existing businesses in Clinton.”
However, John Allen, the chairman of the Economic Development Commission (EDC), said the position has never been filled.
“It was something we’ve wanted for a number of years; former Town Manager Karl Kilduff actually recommended it. It’s been funded in the budget every year, but we’ve never gotten anyone into it,” Allen said.
“There’s a renewed interest now.,”
At a meeting on July 3, Town Manager Michelle Benivegna explained to the council that $17,000 in the 2024-’25 budget was currently earmarked for the part-time position, along with $8,905 left over from the 2023-’24 fiscal budget. Benivegna asked that the money from the 2023-’24 budget be reappropriated for the part-time position. The Clinton Town Council unanimously voted to reappropriate the money at that meeting.
In order to attract qualified candidates, Benivegna asked to reappropriate the money to offer a more desirable rate. The position would work 15 hours a week on a flexible schedule and be compensated between $25 and $35 an hour. At a Town Council meeting on July 17, she said the position would be posted the week of July 22.
Benivegna said that since starting her position last month, she has met with the EDC, Chamber of Commerce and Placemakers, and land use office, who each spoke about the amount of activity and prospective businesses coming to Clinton.
Benivegna said the part-time position would help with seeking grants and developing a strategic plan to attract business to town.
“We really need someone from the town side to help coordinate that, to help facilitate that effort and share information from the various organizations and agencies,” she said during the July 3 meeting.
Allen said the ideal candidate would also serve as a liaison between the town and business community.
“The original purpose was to have someone to help the EDC who would understand the needs, concerns, and worries of the business community in town as well as keep in touch with businesses to provide updates on different initiatives the town is undertaking that might be of interest to them,” Allen said.
As an example, Allen said that the person could help track if all the businesses in one particular industry have a common problem and then recommend potential fixes to the town to alleviate the concern.
“Instead of coming before the town with anecdotal evidence like ‘I’m hearing this,’ we could say, ‘Look, we have a study that shows everyone in this particular business has a problem with this; maybe Planning and Zoning should look at this regulation or whatever the case may be’,” Allen said.
Furthermore, Allen said he hopes filling the position will allow the town to consistently support economic development.
“The worst thing we could do is start something, then have it fall apart an nothing happens and have people wondering why nobody got back to them,” Allen said.
The town once did have a similar position in place through the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, but that organization changed its offerings and mission, so the position no longer existed in Clinton.