By KEN de la BASTIDE, Herald Bulletin
After 15 months and almost $180,000, the city’s economic development consultant believes he has six hot prospective companies that might want to move to Anderson.
Mayor Kevin Smith believes those are funds well spent.
Since December, the city, through revenues from the 1 percent food and beverage tax, paid Greg Winkler $25,000 for expenses, in addition to his $9,000 monthly salary.
Smith said he is not concerned about Winkler’s expenditures.
“I haven’t looked at his expense account,” Smith said. “I leave that up to the Board of Works.”
Winkler said he contacted 183 companies, and has ongoing conversations with 100 of those. He said there are 17 active leads and negotiations are under way with six companies about locating in Anderson.
To date Winkler has submitted an expense for a lunch meeting with one company that has a presence in Anderson. He billed the city for $138.55 for a meeting with Altairnano in September, just before the company announced it was locating a facility in Anderson.
Mayor Kevin Smith inked a contract with economic development consultant Winkler in July 2004 at a rate of $9,000 per month and up to $4,000 per month in expenses. That’s on top of the city’s economic development department’s 2006 budget of $386,500.
During the past 10 months Winkler has been reimbursed $15,303 for mileage, and $1,673 for cellular telephone usage.
Winkler has also billed the city $2,163 to lease a laptop computer and software.
Smith said other consulting contracts signed by the city include charges for equipment used and manpower.
“Any dollars we put into economic development helps shape the future of the community,” he said.
Another expense was $1,000 for a table of eight to the Japanese-American Society dinner in Indianapolis. Winkler, Smith, Community Development Director Katie Goar, Executive Director Art Patterson of the Anderson Business Development Center, Interim Director Mary Starkey of the Corporation for Economic Development; President James Edwards of Anderson University and Allen Willkie, executive at Remy International and his wife attended the dinner.
Winkler said Japanese companies, including Toyota and Ishon, already doing business in Indiana, were at the dinner.
“Those business cards alone were worth $1,000,” Winkler said.
Winkler also spent $730 to attend a Japanese-American Society workshop.
The expenses don’t include the $15,000 raised to send Winkler and Smith to Japan. That trip was funded through corporation donations.
Smith opted for the consultant strategy when there were few applicants for the position of the city’s economic development director. It’s also a different approach than the less aggressive tactics previously employed by the city’s economic development staff. As Smith describes it, Winkler is a “salesman” for Anderson, trying to sell businesses on the idea to open shop here.
“We could have sat back and done nothing differently,” Smith said, “but we know what the results have been in the past.”
He said everyone assumed that Anderson would become a service-based economy fueled by the growth of the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
“We are attracting engineering companies to Anderson like Altairnano and Ertl,” Smith said. “These are companies that will provide jobs for the future.”
Altairnano is expected to create 100 jobs, and Ertl Enterprises will bring six full-time jobs from Lapel and hopes to add three over the next year.
The city is 20 years behind other Indiana communities such as Columbus, Seymour and Lafayette, Smith said, adding that those communities have had an overseas presence for many years.
“We’re trying to play catch-up,” Smith said. “We’re trying to compete with other cities. Anderson didn’t have the mechanism in place to find out who the decision makers were until last year.”
Columbus is aggressive
Brooke Tuttle, president of the Columbus Economic Development Board, said he operates with a $300,000 budget and approximately $40,000 is spent on prospects and development.
However, Columbus and Bartholomew County contribute only $6,000 in taxpayer money each per year.
“We have between 50 and 60 existing companies that we visit every year,” Tuttle said. “We go to their headquarters no matter where it is located.”
He said a global strategy and business plan was developed in 1985 that is still followed today. Tuttle said he regularly travels to Japan, Taiwan, Israel and at times India.
“We have been doing seminars on Columbus around the world for the past seven years,” Tuttle said. “I will spend $7,000 on the trip to Israel and make a presentation to 60 companies. I invited the mayor of Anderson to make a similar presentation.”
Tuttle said in today’s environment, cities have to have a global strategy and be competitive in a world market.
“You need to go to the technology and manufacturing companies overseas,” he said. “The Midwest is attractive because of the location and the core capacity in manufacturing.”
Tuttle said what Anderson pays Winkler is not out of line.
“It is probably not spending enough with the things Anderson has to offer,” he said. “It is a slow process and you’re looking at the long term. One trip will not be enough; you have to remain in constant contact with these companies to be successful.”
Is city getting what it paid for?
City Council President Rick Muir, D-at large, said Winkler will be asked what prospects are in line for the city as a result of his efforts.
“Any salary and any expense account would bother me if it is not being productive,” Muir said. “We want to find out if there are promising leads. Are we getting what Anderson is paying for or not?”
Muir said it is time to start using a measuring stick on Winkler’s efforts.
“The only thing that will make me feel better is if there are results,” he said. “Is our investment paying off the dividends this community deserves and needs?”
If there are results, then the investment is well worth it, he said.
“Hiring a consultant doesn’t bother me in the least,” Muir said. “It is a wonderful idea to have a consultant and maybe hire more than one. It should be a consultant with the experience, expertise, a proven track record and contacts to play in the big leagues.”
He said the city has good people in the economic development department, and the consultant should be a person with proven past accomplishments to work with them.
“If Winkler fits that bill, that’s fine,” Muir said. “If he’s not, then find that person who fills that criteria.”
Bringing jobs to the city is the number one issue facing Anderson, according to Muir, and is the key to the city’s future.
While Winkler submitted $25,000 in expenses, he did not seek reimbursement for $6,186 in other expenses, including some out-of-state travel, entertaining potential clients and tickets to the Indianapolis 500.
“I have a strong commitment to the process of selling Anderson to prospective companies throughout the world,” he said. “We are rebuilding Anderson’s economy. I know it’s expensive, but there’s no other way to get the job done.
“I’m doing it as a good will gesture,” Winkler said of not submitting all of his expenses. “I’m trying to keep the expenses at under $4,000 per month.”
@ 2005 The Herald Bulletin.
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