Glen Ellyn Village Manager Mark Franz (TribLocal file photo)
Glen Ellyn officials are changing the structure of its economic development efforts by eliminating funding for the long-running Economic Development Corporation and seeking to hire a full-time staff member to focus on recruiting business to the area, Village Manager Mark Franz announced in a press release Wednesday.
Franz said the village’s “economic development needs have changed and the structure that supports the village’s efforts must adapt to those needs.”
Janie Patch, the corporation’s executive director and only paid staff member, will “have the option of interviewing for the village’s new position,” Franz said.
The new position, with a yet-to-be-determined salary, will serve as a point person for the village’s business recruitment efforts, reporting directly to Franz. The position is expected to be filled by May after a “competitive search,” Franz said.
In the statement released Wednesday, Franz said the change is necessary because “we need to eliminate duplication of effort, increase alignment and accountability and decrease the costs of our economic development efforts.”
The village has provided an average of $230,000 over a three-year period to fund the Economic Development Corporation, Franz said in an email.
The village board will have to approve the new position “as part of the annual budget review process,” Franz said.
When reached by phone on Wednesday, Patch declined comment, referring calls to Economic Development’s Board President Neil Dishman for comment.
In an email, Dishman said it’s a “sad day” because of the news.
“I believe the EDC has been a great success in its two decades, and I’m sad to see it go,” Dishman said, adding that “the village has obviously put great thought into making this decision, and I appreciate both the careful deliberation that went into making this change and the village’s professional approach to communicating it to the EDC.”
Village President Mark Pfefferman will ask all of the members of the current EDC Board to join the Village’s to-be-formed Economic Development Committee, according to the village’s release.
According to the EDC’s website, the corporation was created in 1991 out of a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Glen Ellyn to facilitate local economic development for the benefit of both businesses and residents.
Both Dishman and Franz praised Patch’s performance while on the job.
“Janie has been a loyal employee and an outstanding performer for the EDC for over 15 years, and that makes the EDC’s loss of funding particularly unfortunate,” Dishman said.
