Council Committee Says No to CANDO, Yes to Downtown

The Jobs and Economic Development Committee of Marion City Council heard quarterly reports from Downtown Marion and Marion CANDO. Following the reports, the committee voted on resolutions of support for both organizations. While the resolution for Downtown Marion passed, the one for Marion CANDO died for the lack of a second.

While the full City Council later took up the issue, no final decision was made and it’s unclear if CANDO will receive City funding this year.

Committee member Mike Thomas voted to approve the resolution for CANDO, but fellow member Jason Schaber and committee chair Ayers Ratliff refused to second the motion. All three approved the measure for Downtown Marion, which was later given its first reading by the full City Council.

Following the committee meeting, Ratliff explained that he believes the money for CANDO would be better spent on safety forces, specifically the police department. He said, from Washington to Ohio to Marion, elected officials should be doing more work themselves when it comes to economic development instead of paying other people to do it for them.

Ratliff also pointed to the report that CANDO filed earlier in the meeting, saying that in three months they did just one site visit. He said the Mayor, as the City’s chief executive, is well placed to do these site visits as part of his duties.

When asked about the approval for Downtown Marion, Ratliff said it’s because they are showing results and are cheaper. Downtown Marion is set to receive less than $10,000 this year compared to less than $70,000 for CANDO. Ratliff said he would have to consider if a smaller amount to CANDO would change his decision.

Ratliff explained that it’s clear how much the downtown area has improved over the years while the industrial sector served by CANDO is languishing.

Ratliff also said the Downtown Marion does fundraising and seeks out grants. He said he has asked CANDO repeatedly about grants and has been told they do not seek them.

“They have been comfortable relying on the government for support,” said Ratliff. He said CANDO themselves promised they would be self-funded within five years of their founding, but that has not happened.

Later in the evening at the full City Council meeting, Mike Thomas moved to add a resolution of support for CANDO to the agenda. Because it was not voted out of committee, Council had to vote to wave Rule 56, approving the bypassing of committee consideration, which they did.

Ratliff told the rest of Council that he hoped, since the issue did not come with the committee’s approval, the issue would have three readings to allow time for discussion. Thomas pointed out that Council already approved the 2012 budget with the funds allocated and that the time to argue the funding had passed. Ratliff argued that he did speak out against the funding during the budget vote.

“I think we could find something more important to spend this money on than an organization that did only one site visit,” stated Ratliff.

Councilman Dale Osborn joined Schaber and Ratliff in voting down the motion to suspend the rules, or bypass the three readings. That means the ordinance had its first reading and will be presented again at the next Council meeting.

If the measure fails to pass City Council, it is unclear if that means the funding will be eliminated for CANDO this year. The budget was passed by Council at the beginning of the year and it specified funding for both organizations. Auditor Kelly Carr said she was unsure if the money would still be able to be paid out, deferring to the Law Director Mark Russell. Russell said he believes the approved budget means the funding will still be made.

During the Council meeting, Thomas said the resolutions of support do not have anything to do with the budget since it was already approved, but did say that without the resolutions, the organizations cannot actually be paid.