Sunday, March 16, 2014

Chamber, Austin split on economic development focus

Austin's Economic Growth and Redevelopment Department and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce are at odds over whether recruiting distribution and logistics companies should be a priority.

At the Feb. 13 City Council briefing on economic development, the Chamber outlined a list of target industries it's trying to attract to Austin. The list hasn't included distribution and logistics since 2004. At the same meeting, though, Kevin Johns, the city's economic development director, described the distribution and logistics sector as a great opportunity for potential growth.

Chamber officials said they have been hesitant to devote resources to recruiting companies in an industry that hasn't borne as much fruit as others in Austin.

"When it was initially put in there in 2004, we worked pretty hard for couple years and were not having a lot of success at it," said Mike Rollins, Austin Chamber president. "We refocused the resources around some of the industries we could have more success in." More here.

No comments: