Dallas City Council approves first inaugural EDC board

DALLAS — Dallas has its first Economic Development Corporation after the City Council unanimously authorised the board of administrators for the brand new mission, which the mayor referred to as a part of town’s new financial philosophy. 

Economic development corporations permit cities to finance new and expanded enterprise enterprises utilizing gross sales tax income — this contains funding industrial improvement tasks, public transportation and jobs coaching courses and offering grants and incentives to native companies for enlargement. 

EDCs cannot simply give cash to companies although — they need to make a efficiency settlement the place the enterprise meets sure standards to qualify for the cash, like investing a certain quantity of capital or making a sure variety of jobs. 

“Dallas took a major step forward today in our efforts to become even more economically competitive,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson mentioned in an announcement. “While Dallas led the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic, the Economic Development Corporation is key to our city’s growth in the years ahead.”

Johnson beforehand named the creation of an EDC as considered one of his high administrative priorities. Many cities across the metroplex and across the state have EDCs already. 

The new financial philosophy the EDC is meant to be part of is to acknowledge town is competing with different main cities in Texas in addition to throughout the United States, Johnson mentioned in his November 2021 State of the City handle.

“It’s time to assert ourselves more aggressively,” Mayor Johnson mentioned on the time. “Dallas is the economic engine of this region, and we need to start acting like it.”

The EDC’s board is made up of 15 unpaid members, eight males and 7 ladies, who’re all executives at giant companies within the metropolis, together with T-Mobile USA, The Real Estate Council and the Dallas Symphony Association. Each member serves a time period of as much as 4 years and is eligible for reappointment for three-year phrases, town mentioned, however no director can serve greater than eight consecutive years.

Here’s a full record of board members:

• Alan Dorantes, Senior Corporate Counsel, T-Mobile USA Inc.
• Ardo Fuentes, Senior Vice President, Investments, Stifel
• Chris Bradshaw, Business Services Support Directors, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
• Cynthia Figueroa, Managing Attorney, The Figueroa Law Group, PLLC
• Dania Duncan Moreno, Partner, Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP
• Debra Hunter Johnson, Founder, President, and Principal Consultant, Reciprocity Consulting Group, LLC
• Gilbert Gerst, Senior Vice President & Corporate Manager of Community Development Banking, BOK Financial Corporation
• Holly Reed, Current Principal & Advocacy Practice Leader, Ryan, LLC
• Jimmy Tran, Owner & Area Developer, Code Ninjas
• John Stephens, General Partner, MJ Lupton Partners LP
• Johnnie King, President, KG Concessions DFW, LP
• Kim Noltemy, President & CEO, Dallas Symphony Association
• Linda McMahon, President & CEO, The Real Estate Council
• Michon Fulgham, CRA Director, Community Development Lending Principal Advisor and CRA Community Development Director