R2000-67 AUTHORIZING CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS

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THE FINAL WORD: Without question, economic development is the major key to improving the quality of life for citizens of Decatur. Economic development, with regard to poor people, has even more acute significance, as it is the means by which such a targeted population can break the cycle of despair and poverty, and it's the means for them to achieve self-sufficiency and productivity. Economic development for poor people of Decatur must take into account that many poor people were former workers and caretakers for their families, who are now faced with unemployment and , underemployment in the wake of financiaUlabor center restructurings and economic displacements ' which have been the result, Moreover, such sustained lack of productivity's spiliover effects have been manifested by costs to taxpayers as a whole as measured by deteriorated and abandoned housing, insufficient tax revenues, increased expenditures for public assistance, increased crime rates, and,overall,the increase in general community despair. Economic development for poor people of Decatur must proceed along two tracks: (1) government intervention and interaction, and (2)community (economic)empowerment. We must move to create and effectuate far-reaching efforts, which will drastically reduce housing deterioration and increase housing rehabilitation/construction, reduce education failure, and bring about compensatory train- ing and education,job opportunities,and income maintenance which does not discourage work. In order to achieve our stated vision — economic development as the means by which we may Y achieve a higher quality of life for citizens of Decatur— we must identify the nature and extent to which there has been market failures in poor, central city areas of the city,and then endeavor to cor- rect the market failures for the welfare and well-being of the entire venue. Here is the starting place for economic development discussions, consensus, agreement, partnerships, policy, and, uiti- mately, economic development programs. Further,and most importantly, here is where the most im- portant function of all will occur: the role and responsibility of city government in the realm of eco- nomic development will be defined and effectuated in behalf of the poorest among us. I see economic development as a essential ingredient in the formula to change the quality of tife for tens of thousands of Decaturites. I, however, do not see economic development as any more impor- tant than several other ingredients,to wit: 1. Appropriate and effective urban planning. 2. Eniargement of the pool of available and affordable housing stocks. 3. Plenary financing of cer�tral city-.specific reinvestment and vitalization efforts. 4. Visionary and comprehensive financial planning. 5. The packaging and implementation of appropriate and effective financial strategies from various funding sources to put dollars in the hands of central city economic firms and developers. Again, neighborhood change depends heavily on the employment and income opportunities avail- able to residents. ��that in mind,initial economic development efforts must resolve to: . Convene differing segments of the City of Decatur to resolve as to what the instant reinvestment and revitalization "hot points"are and to avoid spiilover costs to any segment of the locai mar- ketplace regarding future projects and plans of action. . Designate a significant portion of Decatur's economic development policy officially go to reduc- ing poverty, increase the income levels for poor residents, and change the occupational struc- tures of[now] unemployed, underemployed and working-poor people. . Increase membership of human capital resource banks by soliciting the aid of local technical and skilled employees, now worlcing in the corporate, technical service and craft apparatus, to lend their valuable expertise to poor residents in order to acquire required knowledge, training and accruemerrt for future and sustained development. 10