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.

“The goal isn't to become independent,” says Basinger. “The goal is to become interdependent.”

If the council decides to shed the chamber, it could follow the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County. The Sarasota EDC operated under the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce until 2005, when it became a nonprofit public/private partnership. It's now funded through a combination of private money, government and business occupational license fees.

The Manatee EDC could make a decision on its future by early next year, says Sharon Hillstrom, the council's associate director. “We're not doing anything different than other businesses are doing,” says Hillstrom. “We are reevaluating the organization.”