After two years of being intertwined with the city of Edinburg, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation will return to being an independent entity.
The Edinburg city council voted to amend bylaws of the economic development corporation requiring that the EDC hire its own staff instead of requiring that it hire city staff.
In May 2020, the city revised the EDC bylaws to require that it contract with the city for administrative services and staffing. Under the services agreement between the city and the EDC, the city provided staffing support to the EDC but all that staff reported to the city manager, according to City Attorney Omar Ochoa.
But with Tuesday’s decision, the city council undid those changes.
“Previously, bylaws had been amended so that the city created a department of economic development, so essentially all economic development operations, activities fell under (the) city manager,” said Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. “The action taken last night is to change that so that the EDC has the staff directly under their corporation and not under city management.”
City Councilman Dan Diaz, who also sits on the EDC board, said the council felt the city manager should focus on the day-to-day operations of the city while someone else oversee the EDC.
“Basically, we’re just going back to the way it used to be where EDC can have its own staff and its own director whose every day function is for EDC initiatives,” Diaz said.
The EDC is expected to begin a search for such a person soon.
Diaz said the EDC board will likely work with an outside recruitment agency to search for someone like an executive director to lead the EDC much like the city did when they were looking for a new city manager.
“Our vision is — Edinburg has so much potential, there’s just so much room for growth,” Diaz said. “We want somebody that’s going to be a full time executive director, not a department under the city.”
The change won’t be immediate, though, and the EDC will continue to contract city staff until it hires its own staff.
“Now that the bylaws have been changed, it kicks off this process to transition for the EDC to hire its own staff,” Ochoa, the city attorney said, “but in the interim, before that happens, the professional services agreement between the city and the EDC still is in effect so the city is still offering support services to the EDC.”
Part of that city staff that will continue to provide support to the EDC is interim Assistant City Manager Nelda Ramirez who replaced Assistant City Manager Brian Kelsey who left the city earlier this month.
Ramirez previously worked with the Edinburg EDC for 19 years before she resigned in September 2019, having served as executive director on at least three different occasions during her time there.
In another staffing change, Blanca Davila, the director of economic development, resigned from her position after two years.
The EDC board members said their goodbyes to Davila during their board meeting last week, thanking her for her work.
“I want to thank Blanca for your time and your energies and your dedication to the EDC,” said Veronica Gonzales, EDC board secretary. “We know it’s been a short two years and a very busy two years and we’ve enjoyed working with you very much so thank you very much for your service.”
The board also underwent a small shakeup this week as the city council reappointed nearly all of the EDC board members with the exception of Hiren Govind.
Gonzales, Diaz, Roland Gomez, Aaron “Ronny” Rivera, Sabrina Walker Hernandez, and Raul Resendez will continue serving on the board. Edinburg resident Eddie Garza was added to the board.
