10/26/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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to increase the city's regional retail market share, and to retain or increase downtown Eugene's retail market share; and 6) to increase business starts and e expansions. Mr. Bennett said the plan's objectives should be more specific-- more quantitative, more mea s urab 1 e . He said the objectives need to be measurable in order for the City to be accountable for the funds it spends on economic development. Ms. Wooten said CCED considered stating the objectives in more quantifiable terms. She mentioned two problems with doing this: 1) it can position the City for failure due to economic factors beyond its control; and 2) it can create expectations among members of the public that may not be realized. Mr. Bennett said he was not advocating the establishment of unrealistic objectives. Mr. Holmer agreed that measurable standards are needed in the City's economic development efforts; however, such standards would be more appropriate in some sort of annual plan than as part of the objectives of the overall economic development plan. Ms. Bascom agreed. Mr. Miller agreed with Mr. Bennett's point that the plan's objectives need to be measurable in some way. He said that goals are usually stated in more general terms, whereas objectives are usually specific and measurable. Mr. Rutan said there are many factors involved in economic development that are beyond the City's control. He said that although the City can have an important impact on economic development, in most cases it does not--and should not--play the major role. He said that when setting objectives, the e City must realize that it is only one part of the economic development picture. Mr. Rutan added that although some economic development objectives can be quantified and measured, the determination of whether a particular effort was successful rests in part on subjective, speculative, or non- quantifiable evaluations. He said the City should set specific objectives; however, it should not delude itself: 1) about the impact it can have on economic development; and 2) about how objective the evaluation of economic development efforts can be. Ms. Wooten added that the results of economic development efforts are often not as measurable as people would like. She also said that the draft plan discusses the need for accountability and recommends that several programs and projects be evaluated to determine whether they are indeed providing benefit. Referring to the fourth objective, Mr. Bennett said that the lowering of residential vacancy rates carries with it the effect of increasing housing costs. Mayor Obie said the goals and objectives should address Eugene's positioning relative to the national economy. He said one of Eugene's weaknesses is its excessive dependence on swings in the national economy. He sa i d economi c diversification is an effort to lessen the impact that such swings in the national economy have on Eugene. He said this is not mentioned as specifically as it might be in the "Goals and Objectives" section. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 26, 1987 Page 4