(A) The Greater Albuquerque Economic Action Council (hereafter called the “Action Council”) is established.
(1) The Mayor or a member of his or her office; the President of the Albuquerque City Council; the Chairman of the Bernalillo County Commission; the President of Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute, the President of the University of New Mexico, the Superintendent of the Albuquerque Public Schools; the Chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council; and the volunteer presidents or chairmen of Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc., Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, two neighborhood associations, the New Mexico Federation of Labor-AFL-CIO, and a member of the board of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry who resides in the city shall constitute the Action Council.
(2) The Action Council may form working subgroups as needed.
(3) Where a specific position is not specified, representatives of the named organizations shall be suggested for appointment by those organizations to the Mayor. Appointment of members of the Action Council who do not automatically become members by virtue of their position shall be submitted by the Mayor to the City Council for advice and consent. Neighborhood association representatives also shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council.
(4) Membership on the Action Council is conditional on keeping in confidence information on specific business relocations until the information is made public by that business.
(B) The Action Council is charged with addressing the oversight, coordination and implementation of the following components of economic development:
(1) Expansion of the manufacturing and technical services sectors of the local economy;
(2) Recruitment of new businesses to the Albuquerque area;
(3) Retention and expansion of existing businesses and industry in the Albuquerque area;
(4) Convention and tourism promotion;
(5) Education and employee and management training;
(6) Technology transfer from federal research laboratories to local businesses;
(7) Neighborhood-based economic development;
(8) Business financing;
(9) Border and international business and trade opportunities;
(10) Entrepreneurial activity including business start-up;
(11) Small business expansion; and
(12) Development of quality job opportunities for Albuquerque residents.
(C) The Action Council be charged with the oversight, coordination add communication of a process that:
(1) Delineates the duties and responsibilities of public and private sector organizations involved in economic development;
(2) Establishes an economic development goals-setting process involving the city, other affiliated public agencies and private economic development organizations;
(3) Establishes a process for implementing economic development goals;
(4) Establishes a process for measuring and reporting progress toward meeting economic development goals; and
(5) Keeps city elected officials fully informed of and involved in economic development programs and activities in the public and private sectors.
(D) The Action Council is charged with working with the Office of Community Economic Development of the city in the development of a strategic planning process for the city's Economic Development Target Area, which is an area of economic distress, chronic high unemployment and low per capita income. The Office of Community Economic Development will report progress on the strategic planning process at appropriate intervals to the Action Council.
(E) The Mayor shall form a staff economic development policy group which shall consist of representatives of the following city departments: Planning, Community Services, Public Works, Mayor/CAO, and Council Services. The economic development policy group shall work closely with the Action Council in the formulation of the economic development strategy for the city government. The Action Council shall receive a draft of the city government's strategy plan and be asked to review the draft and provide written comments and recommendations concerning it. The policy group shall make a positive effort to incorporate the comments and recommendations from the Action Council in the city government's strategy plan. Such city strategy plan shall not take effect until adopted by the City Council.
(F) The Action Council is charged with developing and implementing a process by which economic development opportunities and obstacles are addressed in a coordinated manner by the private and public sector organizations of jurisdiction.
(1) The members of the Action Council will determine what action is necessary to address a specific economic development opportunity or obstacle and assign staff from one or more of the organizations represented on the Action Council with the consent of those organizations.
(2) The members of the Action Council will assign staff from one or more of the organizations represented on the Action Council, with the consent of those organizations, to establish and maintain regular contact with public and private organizations involved in economic development for the purpose of gaining familiarity with economic development programs and activities underway in the public and private sector, where appropriate inventorying and evaluating such activities and programs, fostering communication among organizations with economic development responsibilities and identifying economic development opportunities and obstacles for appropriate follow-up action.
(3) One economic development professional in the employ of the city shall be assigned to work with the Action Council.
(G) In order to carry out the functions specified in this legislation, a planner position with emphasis on economic development is created in the Planning Program of the Planning Department. The amount of $40,400 is appropriated from the Operating Fund Reserve of the General Fund to the Planning Program to fund this new position.
(Res. 117-1992, approved 8-4-92; Am. Res. 156-1992, approved 10-23-92)