Ansonia is looking for a new Economic Development Director.
Ansonia Economic Development Commissioner Chairman Vinnie Scarlata was scheduled to meet last week with Mayor James Della Volpe and other city leaders to talk about how to proceed.
The position has been empty since former Economic Development Director Claude Perry died in September.
The meeting last Thursday included members of the city’s Board of Aldermen and the Planning and Zoning Commission, Scarlata said.
“This will be the group that decides not only the job description, but also the type of individual we’re looking for,” Scarlata said.
By that he means: Does the city want a full-time employee, or a consultant? Do they want someone with experience in economic development in another city, or lots of experience with Ansonia businesses?
The group will form a search committee for a new director. That committee will include members of Ansonia’s business community, Scarlata said.
“Part of the charge will be to put together a plan for where you want to see the city go,” Board of Aldermen President Eugene Sharkey said during the board’s Feb. 14 meeting.
The budget for the new director hasn’t been set yet, according to Scarlata.
The process is important because several city leaders believe Ansonia is at a turning point in terms of economic development.
A new group of commissioners has big plans to turn around a lagging local economy.
Scarlata said he hopes to get the Ansonia high school students involved in economic development projects, and create a draw to the city by playing up facts such as: The first bicycle patent was designed by a former resident.
Meanwhile, members of the Board of Aldermen said new business is the key to helping keep the city’s tax rate stable.
The Board of Aldermen last Tuesday (Feb. 14) forwarded a budget proposal to the city’s tax board that would come with a 6.6 percent tax increase.
Sharkey said the city can only keep the tax rate steady in two ways: Lower costs or bring in more money.
The second part is where economic development comes in.
“Our future lies in the hands of economic development at this point,” Scarlata said.
