MONROE - The Monroe Salary and Personnel Committee voted unanimously Monday night to pursue a contract with the Monroe Chamber of Commerce for marketing and economic development services.
Contract details now will go to City Attorney Rex Ewald for development.
The services could reduce the number of job requirements of the next city administrator, Chairman Mark Coplien said.
The city is considering hiring an administrator after the budget is finished, to start at the beginning of 2009. The committee considered human resources, as well as marketing and economic development, as important skills for its administrator.
"Economic development is a specialty area, per se, and an expertise area for an administrator. If you go down that path, you lose the other," Coplien said. "There's no way to get the best of everything on an administrator list."
According to Coplien, the idea of sharing an employee's skills with the Chamber "has been well-researched up to this point" by the Chamber, Mayor Ron Marsh and Coplien.
Hiring a private firm for the work "would cost a lot more," Coplien said.
The contact would include an expected $12,500 for salary and $2,500 for possible city memberships into organizations. The city would pay for the $12,500 salary.
Marsh said an employee's connections with the Chamber not only would be good for marketing and economic development, but also for business retention.
Chamber of Commerce Board President Bryan Rach made the proposal to the city.
"We knew what our needs are," he explained. But the Chamber had a prospect to hire who had a set of skills which also could address the city's potential needs.
"The Chamber of Commerce is not in the business of economic development," Rach said. But he suggested the city could contract for some of the hiree's time, at a rate to be determined by the city.
How time is monitored, how the employee is used and what is accomplished will be part of the contract.
Marsh listed other details that would have to be included in the contract, such as duties, evaluations and length of service.
"(The city's) evaluation of performance would be only on economic development," Marsh said.
He also said it would be an advantage to prorate the contract to start in 2008, in order to give the employee "time to get up to speed for next year."
"We can sit down and go over how our industrial parks and marketing is going," Marsh said.
Contract details now will go to City Attorney Rex Ewald for development.
The services could reduce the number of job requirements of the next city administrator, Chairman Mark Coplien said.
The city is considering hiring an administrator after the budget is finished, to start at the beginning of 2009. The committee considered human resources, as well as marketing and economic development, as important skills for its administrator.
"Economic development is a specialty area, per se, and an expertise area for an administrator. If you go down that path, you lose the other," Coplien said. "There's no way to get the best of everything on an administrator list."
According to Coplien, the idea of sharing an employee's skills with the Chamber "has been well-researched up to this point" by the Chamber, Mayor Ron Marsh and Coplien.
Hiring a private firm for the work "would cost a lot more," Coplien said.
The contact would include an expected $12,500 for salary and $2,500 for possible city memberships into organizations. The city would pay for the $12,500 salary.
Marsh said an employee's connections with the Chamber not only would be good for marketing and economic development, but also for business retention.
Chamber of Commerce Board President Bryan Rach made the proposal to the city.
"We knew what our needs are," he explained. But the Chamber had a prospect to hire who had a set of skills which also could address the city's potential needs.
"The Chamber of Commerce is not in the business of economic development," Rach said. But he suggested the city could contract for some of the hiree's time, at a rate to be determined by the city.
How time is monitored, how the employee is used and what is accomplished will be part of the contract.
Marsh listed other details that would have to be included in the contract, such as duties, evaluations and length of service.
"(The city's) evaluation of performance would be only on economic development," Marsh said.
He also said it would be an advantage to prorate the contract to start in 2008, in order to give the employee "time to get up to speed for next year."
"We can sit down and go over how our industrial parks and marketing is going," Marsh said.