The Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners took the next step in economic development Tuesday night by establishing a job description and pay range for the county’s future economic development director position. The director, among many other tasks, will be responsible for activities at the catalyst site and recruiting new businesses and industry to all areas of Suwannee County.

Job description

County Administrator Randy Harris provided the board with a job description for the board to consider and approve. According to the proposal, this is a responsible professional and administrative position that works under the direction of the county administrator to ensure that economic development initiatives and activities are coordinated, executed, and aligned with the Board of County Commissioner’s vision and policies. The position is responsible for the planning, implementation and evaluation of Suwannee County’s economic development programs and projects.

Salary

The board agreed to a salary range of $45-60,000 depending on education and experience.

At an Aug. 8 budget workshop, the board agreed to designate .08 mils to economic development, which would produce approximately $114,655.78 in annual funding. On Sept. 7, the board directed county staff to create a job description for an economic development director at their monthly meeting.

Also in early September, city and county officials as well as business owners and residents participated in a meeting with Boyette Strategic Advisors (BSA) to discuss various types of organizational structures for economic development, and to build a plan that would suit Suwannee County. BSA, a company hired by the Suwannee County Development Authority (SCDA), collected the data and created a professional recommendation for consideration.

At a recent meeting, Tim Williams, on behalf of SCDA, presented BSA’s recommendation to the board. In conjunction with BSA’s recommendation, the board voted 5-0 to set the job description and salary cap as the next step in the process.

Local eyes were focused on economic development earlier this year when Suwannee County Economic Alliance President Dennis Cason announced he would be retiring at the end of the year. The county then had to make a decision on whether to continue to fund an outside agency or establish a position designated for economic development.

The board provided Council for Progress, an umbrella under the Economic Alliance, a total annual funding of $57,000 for economic development. The funds were distributed quarterly in the amount of $14,250 for the second and third quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, which has ended. (There was no funding paid for the first or last quarter). The county has officially ended funding Council for Progress, and will now use that funding for the new economic development director position.