This was an e-mail sent to among others, our public officials:
Please feel free to contact me at any time with your thoughts and ideas.
Brett Doney
What am I missing here? It does not have to take thousands of dollars to develop a website, and in this case, it's not a site that once completed would need somebody tethered to it 24-7. Why not set it up as a blog? Those can be FREE.
Web exposure is just too important in this day and age to ignore, especially when you're trying to recruit out of town businesses to the area.
The City’s proposed budget does not include an increase in funding for GFDA. The City Manager has asked that we submit a formal request for increased funding and debt forgiveness which I will prepare for Bob’s signature.
I have reviewed our budget for FY 2009 and recommend the following cuts to balance our cashflow based on the assumption that the City will not increase funding this year. These changes assume the forgiveness of the City’s debt. If the debt is not forgiven, we will need to cut another $65,300 from our budget. The only way to do this would be to cut another staff position and further cut marketing expenses. We have already cut 30% of staff positions and marketing expenses by over 50%.
The budget does not include funding to complete our new web site that we carried over from our fiscal year just ended or to buy much needed new computer equipment to replace or at least upgrade 6 year old computers, particularly our server. I believe we can cover these expenses through increased fundraising. We should discuss the proposed changes at next week’s Executive Committee meeting.
Additional Cuts
Personnel-$10,000-additional cut
I have reviewed our budget for FY 2009 and recommend the following cuts to balance our cashflow based on the assumption that the City will not increase funding this year. These changes assume the forgiveness of the City’s debt. If the debt is not forgiven, we will need to cut another $65,300 from our budget. The only way to do this would be to cut another staff position and further cut marketing expenses. We have already cut 30% of staff positions and marketing expenses by over 50%.
The budget does not include funding to complete our new web site that we carried over from our fiscal year just ended or to buy much needed new computer equipment to replace or at least upgrade 6 year old computers, particularly our server. I believe we can cover these expenses through increased fundraising. We should discuss the proposed changes at next week’s Executive Committee meeting.
Additional Cuts
Personnel-$10,000-additional cut
Interest-$13,000-assumes City’s debt forgiveness
Professional Training-$10,000-additional cut
Professional Marketing Services-$1,000-additional cut, wiping out this line item (100% total cuts from last year)
Conference & Trade Show Fees- $2,000- additional cut (20% total cuts from last year)
Marketing Memberships-$5,000-additional cut (56% total cuts from last year)
Marketing Memberships-$5,000-additional cut (56% total cuts from last year)
Publications (market research)-$1,000-50% cut
Repairs & Maintenance-$1,000-20% cut
Marketing Travel-$10,000-additional cut (55% total cuts from last year)
Contingency-$10,000-100% cut (contingency for working with prospects)
I propose cutting the following marketing trips for the first half of FY 2009:
I propose cutting the following marketing trips for the first half of FY 2009:
Next Gen Data Center w/ Northern CA prospecting
Association of Defense Communities
Washington, DC Prospecting w/ Congressional visits
Data Center World and prospecting
PowerGen
Due to cuts in personnel, I propose cutting the following from our FY 2009 Action Plan:
Due to cuts in personnel, I propose cutting the following from our FY 2009 Action Plan:
Workforce Recruitment
Downtown Revitalization
West Bank Redevelopment
10th Avenue South Corridor
MedTech District
I also recommend we put the Chinook Wind Energy Coalition on hold until we raise private funds to support the effort.
If we execute our plan to develop new sources of revenue, we should be in better shape next fiscal year. However, as it stands now our efforts have been significantly reduced from what we promised our investors and that greatly concerns me. I am open to your suggestions. I would very much appreciate the full engagement of our Board in securing additional private investment commitments to reach our Forward Great Falls goal.
I recommend that we propose to the City taking over management of the Port Authority, opening the opportunity to develop this as a revenue source. Management would be at a loss to begin with because the Centene deal did not structure in any fees for management, but future deals could be structured to build in small ongoing fees.
I do not recommend “staying the course” by pushing debt obligations off to future years. This is what has been done in the past, resulting in our current financial hole. Nor do I recommend further staff cuts. We are still cleaning up from mistakes made in the past from understaffing some functions and/or allocating tasks to staff that did not have the skills and experience necessary to accomplish them. You run a significant risk managing millions of dollars in state and federal money if you do not have the staff and systems in place to insure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements, and in lending millions of dollars each year without having experienced and highly skilled lending staff.
The gloom and doom being said, I am confident that we can operate with a reduced budget and still produce substantial tangible results for our public and private investors. We have already announced $295 million in projects in 2009. I believe we will double this by the end of the calendar year. I also have great hopes for the MATL line and accompanying wind farms, the industrial park, and growth in our lending impact. We have the best staff team I have ever had the pleasure of working with and several excellent partners. We will also be conducting the OEA Diversification project this fiscal year which will generate great market research information and engage many investors and potential investors throughout the region.
If we execute our plan to develop new sources of revenue, we should be in better shape next fiscal year. However, as it stands now our efforts have been significantly reduced from what we promised our investors and that greatly concerns me. I am open to your suggestions. I would very much appreciate the full engagement of our Board in securing additional private investment commitments to reach our Forward Great Falls goal.
I recommend that we propose to the City taking over management of the Port Authority, opening the opportunity to develop this as a revenue source. Management would be at a loss to begin with because the Centene deal did not structure in any fees for management, but future deals could be structured to build in small ongoing fees.
I do not recommend “staying the course” by pushing debt obligations off to future years. This is what has been done in the past, resulting in our current financial hole. Nor do I recommend further staff cuts. We are still cleaning up from mistakes made in the past from understaffing some functions and/or allocating tasks to staff that did not have the skills and experience necessary to accomplish them. You run a significant risk managing millions of dollars in state and federal money if you do not have the staff and systems in place to insure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements, and in lending millions of dollars each year without having experienced and highly skilled lending staff.
The gloom and doom being said, I am confident that we can operate with a reduced budget and still produce substantial tangible results for our public and private investors. We have already announced $295 million in projects in 2009. I believe we will double this by the end of the calendar year. I also have great hopes for the MATL line and accompanying wind farms, the industrial park, and growth in our lending impact. We have the best staff team I have ever had the pleasure of working with and several excellent partners. We will also be conducting the OEA Diversification project this fiscal year which will generate great market research information and engage many investors and potential investors throughout the region.
Please feel free to contact me at any time with your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks!
Brett
Brett
Brett Doney
President
Great Falls Development Authority
One of the things Mr. Doney indicated was that this budget "does not include funding to complete our new web site that we carried over from our fiscal year just ended..."
What am I missing here? It does not have to take thousands of dollars to develop a website, and in this case, it's not a site that once completed would need somebody tethered to it 24-7. Why not set it up as a blog? Those can be FREE.
Web exposure is just too important in this day and age to ignore, especially when you're trying to recruit out of town businesses to the area.
5 comments:
Oh, you better believe I've got something to say about this...
I am floored that he recommended that after Dave offered to update it for nothing.
Can we get a ROI for the GFDA investment of the prior 5 years?
Anonymous:
For folks who sometimes have problems with acronyms (sometimes me), I'm assuming by ROI you mean "return on investment"?
If so, I'll see what I can come up with.
Well I guess SME won't help GFDA make up the difference, as SME has 'sucked the city dry' with squandered expenditures, studies, loans and ECP Losses. If we had shown some more city 'backbone' instead of catering to SME, then I submit you would have kept your $65K and maybe had even more more!
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