Editorial: EDA change could benefit Farmington

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The city of Farmington continues to consider changes to its economic development efforts. Less than a month after laying off its economic development specialist, the city is tinkering with the makeup of its economic development authority.

The EDA exists to provide guidance on development issues, but in recent years its membership has comprised almost entirely members of the Farmington City Council. Now that could change, and we think it would be a change for the better.

The EDA serves a few purposes for the city. City attorney Joel Jamnik told EDA members Monday the existence of the board opens doors to new sources of funding for projects and allows the city to buy and sell property for redevelopment. It can also serve as another perspective on development issues. A fresh set of eyes that can look at projects from a specific perspective.

The city doesn’t necessarily get that when council members made up the bulk of the board. They were getting one set of eyes looking at an issue twice. That doesn’t do anybody much good.

The membership of the EDA seems to be in a near constant state of change. The city can’t stop tinkering. It has gone from an entirely appointed board to a board made up entirely of council members. As it stands, all five council members serve on the EDA along with two community members who can express opinions but cannot vote.

It might seem odd to change again just a few years after the last adjustment, but we believe in this case the change would benefit Farmington.

Tags: opinion, farmington, commentaries