Purpose
To establish a strategic plan for economic development that will aid existing industry expansion and allow for new industry opportunities
Formulate a marketing plan to carry out the strategic plan
Purpose
Steps involved to establish the strategic plan:
To review existing conditions Formulate a shared vision Develop achievable goals Formulate an action plan Establish “dashboard indicators”
Review of Past/Current Efforts
Expand our long term economic development strategy to promote growth Develop an industrial and business retention and
expansion plan Pursue partnerships with educational institutions to retain
an educated workforce Continue to develop an infrastructure support plans which
will allow growth within and around Washington Continue to foster a pro-development approach to business
development and enhancement Consider a business recognition program Continue public-private partnerships Retain a full-time Economic Development Director for the
city
Review of Past/Current Efforts
Increase the economic vitality of downtown in both attracting and retaining business Investigate feasibility of establishing a
façade improvement program Create architectural design guidelines Promote the use of financial incentives
such as historic tax credits to renovate and revitalize
Promote residential living downtown
Review of Past/Current Efforts
Broaden the city’s economic base by attracting diverse businesses Maintain an inventory of existing businesses and develop
a marketing plan to target undeserved economic development interests
Continue to work closely with the state to indentify key properties for development and the city’s interest in developing those parcels
Create a high-quality marketing plan and distribute it to targeted businesses
Actively pursue development of an office park in the community
Work to establish a small-business incubator to expand the city’s business base
Review of Past/Current Efforts
Review the City’s policy concerning the use of economic development incentives to create economic opportunity Ensure that financial incentives are
linked to specific performance criteria such as the number of jobs or wage rate targets
Work cooperatively with the school district and other taxing jurisdictions regarding the use of tax incentives
Review of Past/Current Efforts
Focus on making the city a destination location in the St. Louis metro area Increase marketing of both tourism and
non-tourism aspects of the Washington area to attract visitors
Develop a unified thematic approach to better identify the Washington Community
Investigate various financing strategies to promote and enhance the tourism market
Review of Workforce Assessment Survey
In 2012, in conjunction with Franklin county and Ameren Missouri, a workforce survey assessment was conducted by growth management services
In 2013 the results were formulated with 22 participating industries, 8 of which were located in Washington, MO
The results covered workforce characteristics such as product quality, productivity, safety, honesty, work ethic, reliability, trainability, attitude, team compatibility, initial skills, educational achievement, availability of job applicants
Status of Work Ready Community Inititative
In January of 2013 Franklin County, through application to the Department of Economic Development was recognized as a Work Ready Community in training