Members of the Manhattan business community talked about the future of economic development in the city at Tuesday’s Manhattan City Commission work session.
The discussion followed a presentation on the annual economic development report. The city performs an accountability review of all organizations which receive Manhattan Economic Development Opportunity funds — including recipients of funds from the 1994 half-cent city-wide MEDOFAB sales tax as well as the half-cent RICOED Riley County Roads and Jobs sales tax from 2002 and its renewal in 2012.
According to their report, economic development funds contributed toward the creation of 1463 jobs since the city’s first eco-devo agreement nearly 25 years ago. City Manager Ron Fehr writes that is 2 percent higher than the job growth that was projected. Additionally, Fehr writes that “for every $1 invested in economic development initiatives since 1995, approximately $9.36 was leveraged in private sector and other investments” and that 15 infrastructure projects have been funded through the fund.
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