Molinaro: “We need to
reinvigorate …”
POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro Thursday proposed that the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation dissolve and be merged into the county Industrial Development Agency.
He made his proposal to the DCEDC board.
Right now there are nearly 13 separate economic development organizations
in the county; three of them are public authorities that do the same reporting,
oversight, accounting, audit, and same bureaucratic responsibilities,
he said.
“I don’t think that we can afford to be casual observers in Dutchess County’s economic condition nor its economic future,” Molinaro said. “We need to reinvigorate and in this way, restructure the infrastructure of economic development to be more effective, more efficient, and I think, more aggressive.”
The new organization would be called the Dutchess County Economic Development Advisory Council and Molinaro says it will not look much different than the existing EDC Board, retaining most, if not all, of the current members. All EDC assets and employees would be transferred to the Dutchess County IDA, making it the sole entity for business expansion, retention and attraction.
Molinaro hopes it will provide the representatives of various boards who work at multiple capacities an opportunity to pool their resources and spark more active deliberations during meetings.
After Molinaro’s proposal, the EDC Board voted to consider it.
