R2000-67 AUTHORIZING CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STEP I: TABLE OF SHARED BELIEFS & VALUES For the past several years, I have sought answers to some major development questions regard- Much of what 1've asked ex erts and ractitioners ing Decatur and, more importantly, i� people. p p to give responses to dealt with the material well-being of central city residents, given the degree to which the city and private developers propose to redevelop neighborhoods. Hence, the amount of space I've devoted to expioring redevelopment and reinvestment specific to poor, in- ner city people. Maybe i've been unclear, or maybe I've elected to raise issues at inappropriate or untimely junctures during fonims and updates associated with instant redevelopment efforts. My thoughts following recent developments in Decatur have furthered anchored and solidified my viewpoint concerning the pathologies, risks and needs of our population which is in need of targeted economic development What I mean here is that, how can we suggest economic devel- opment, inclusive of all citizens of the City of Decatur, without, first, establishing some consen- sus as to what such efforts should attempt to achieve (I believe that I appreciated this notion in your written comments)? The need for inclusfve economic deve/oament is predicated on the proposition that any compre- hensive action, if expected to be successful, must be preceded by a systematic thought or ra- tionale which justifies its undertaking. This is the nature of my query associated with my analy- sis of the instant Near North Project (i.e., how can low-income residents be expected to inhabit $80,000 homes without a�rmative lending assistance and higher wage job opportunity?, etc.). I believe that once such an analytic framework has been formulated then a plan of action or strat- egy for economic development can be derived from the principles and insights of the analysis. Not being an economic development theorist or practitioner, 1 have often had discussions with long time community civic leaders, heads of improvement and protest organizations, and activ- ists, and the sum of our interchanges lead me to advance two major hypotheses or assumptions: 1. The central city of Decatur has experienced something of a "market failune"in capital and la- bor for sometime now, and it is necessary for and incumbent on government to intervene and correct such economic-related aberrations. 2. Local economic development policy and programs fail to appreciate the notion that the[total] local market's well-being and welfare wiil be increased by favorabiy changing the occupa- tional and income stnictures for unemployed and underemployed workers. How much better off would Decatur be if it [now] dedicated herself to completing the task of ad- dressing and eradicating the effects of past and present economic neglect and decline of her central city spaces and people by repairing the physical and economic damage done there? My question is more that just rhetorical. Put into more practicai terms, my question can be sub- divided into three additional questions: 1. Given the wealth of redevelopment activity completed, began and proposed in and for Deca- tu�'s central city, how will the configuration of the markets and the location of economic ac- tivity be shaped by the activity for the best interest of central city residents? 2. How will the activity function for the good of central city labor markets? 3. How will the activity interact with the acquisition of skills and general training for central city prospective workers? Further, what is the best system of education, quality and quantity of housing, goods and ser- vices for residents, environmental issues, and local job opportunities for Decatur? The answers to these and other matters require us to convene, immediately, on a tab(e of shared beliefs and values about what economic development for Decatur should be. Here, we should hammer out resolutions for advocacy, job training and placement, business support, and enterprise and at- traction strategies,with which we believe will result in ample reinvestment in and revitalization of the central city and its people. 6