Without an economic development director, the town is at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting new businesses, according to members of the Economic Development Commission.
They urged the Board of Selectmen Tuesday to approve hiring a staff member for the empty department.
Two years ago the town hired John Criscuolo as its part-time economic development director, but he left after only six months for a similar full time position in New Haven. And this summer the department’s clerk left, leaving the department without any employees.
“We can’t answer phones and emails, we have full-time jobs and families,” said commission chairman Jon Szuch. “We need to have a human being there.”
The commission wants to take the $24,000 budgeted for the clerk position and add other funds earmarked for projects to hire a part-time economic director for about $48,000. But the Selectmen said they would prefer to have an ad hoc committee study the issue before a decision is made.
That committee, which will be named at the Selectmen’s next meeting Sept. 21, will determine whether its best to hire a town employee or a consultant and what the job duties will be.
They likely will be based on the job description compiled before Criscuolo’s hiring in 2008.
Selectman John Conroy said he looked into what other similar-sized municipalities do for an economic development director and found that many offer a full-time position paying between $80,000 and $100,000. That would be difficult for Seymour to do, he said, unless the job was combined with the current part-time town planner position for that salary.
The town desperately needs to put a face on the economic development department, commission member Mike Horbal said.
“All of the cities and towns are in competition with each other for businesses,” he said.
In Oxford, Economic Development Director Herman Schuler has enjoyed considerable success, he said, in part because that town owns much land for development that can be marketed to businesses, an advantage Seymour lacks.
Without someone heading the department, it’s almost impossible to accommodate those looking for information on the possibilities of relocating here, he said.
“Not having an economic development director is like opening a real estate office without agents or advertising,” he said. Now, calls to the town’s Economic Development Department go unanswered, he said.
“When people call looking to relocate here, who do they talk to?” he said.
