Tuesday, January 3, 2012 10:35 PM EST
NEW BRITAIN ? Mayor Timothy O?Brien announced a restructuring of city departments Tuesday that he contends will lead to economic development and job creation.
?But we need to be organized to get the job done,? O?Brien said of the first phase of a number of planned reorganizations.
Though certain positions will be eliminated where duplications appear to exist, the? mayor said, there are unfilled positions city departments have asked him to fill.
?If we can consolidate, we can have one place where economic development and planning can take place,? he said. ?We need to plan which businesses we want and where downtown and how to attract these new businesses.?
The mayor said he will target high-tech jobs and commit resources to attract them.
?We have limited resources in the city, so we?re looking at top priorities that need to be done,? O?Brien said. ?This will be offset by savings we?ll see elsewhere in the government.?
O?Brien said he will work with the city?s two hospitals, Central Connecticut State University, the Downtown District and the Chamber of Commerce which all will have a role in his plan.
The coordination and leadership will not replace what these organizations are doing, but with O?Brien at the helm, he believes the efforts will become better organized.
Specifically, the city Economic Development Administration will be run directly out of the mayor?s office, upgrading the Municipal Economic Development Agency into a full city commission to be called the Economic Development Commission.
Bill Carroll, business development director for the city, said after talking with O?Brien, his role will remain pretty much the same. He will continue to collaborate with the chamber to attract new business to the city.
William Millerick, president of the New Britain chamber, said he had discussed O?Brien?s economic development plan and came away impressed.
?Over the last 12 years we have been working effectively with three different administrations,? Millerick said. ?By bringing everyone together, heading in the same direction we can build a very powerful force.?
Millerick said working with the mayor, then a state representative, on the Busway project he could see that economic development was important to O?Brien.
?He understood the possibility of economic development benefiting the city,? Millerick said. ?He had a vision for what the Busway project would do when others didn?t understand. So, I?m not surprised that this is one of his top initiatives.?
The new Economic Development Administration will be a partnership of city departments and local organizations and business leaders affecting economic development. The chamber, Broad Street Merchants Association, the Downtown District, CCSU?s Institute of Training and Business Development, local business, labor leaders and others will be asked to be partners in the EDA.
?It?s important that I take strong action, hands on, to build our local economy and create jobs,? O?Brien said. ?This economic development initiative will put me in a position to get the job done that the people elected me to do.?
The mayor said that other phases of his reorganization plan will be rolled out in the coming weeks and will be aimed at reducing the size of government to save taxpayers? money.
Departments being reviewed include, but are not limited to, the city?s finance department and code enforcement agencies.
?We will be looking to reduce the overall size of city government while focusing more on the critical things we need to do, keeping in mind that economic development is our number one priority,? the mayor concluded.
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Source: http://newbritainherald.com/articles/2012/01/03/news/doc4f03c8df777ba438144983.txt
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