Economic agency seeks autonomy

Coffee Talk hears the Manatee Economic Development Council, a division of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, could break off from its parent.

Nothing is imminent, EDC officials say, although a departure from the chamber is an option being considered, council Executive Director Eric Basinger confirms. The council has its own budget, but its staff work in a chamber division run by Basinger. “There are a lot of options on the table,” Basinger tells Coffee Talk. “This has been a wide-ranging discussion.”

Those discussions stem from the work the council accomplished the past year in luring companies to relocate or stay in the county partially through government-approved incentives. Basinger says the council exceeded its goals in that area, which led to a task force being formed by the chamber and the council to study how the EDC can grow further.