Friday, March 5, 2010

David Frasher, City Manager developed an Excellent Economic Development Strategy in Grants Pass

Excellent Economic Development Strategy in Grants Pass by David Frasher
Grants Pass is a major commercial and employment center located in Southern Oregon. David Frasher worked as the City Manager of Grants Pass, Oregon from October 2005 until August 2009. He also became a “Credentialed Manager” with the International City Management Association (ICMA). As the City Manager, he took a step forward in financial management and budgeting, focusing greater efforts on Council goals. He organized and implemented goal-setting retreats in which the elected officials established objectives and an overall vision for the following year. After the retreat, the staff created a work plan containing specific targets and projects, identified the person(s) responsible for each item, resources needed, and the performance measures that would be used to track each item. All these goals, vision, and work plan were developed in close cooperation with the Council. Economic development remained a top priority for Mr. Frasher and the City Council throughout this period

David Frasher, City Manager won Award for Financial Reporting in Grants Pass
David Frasher, City Manager developed a budget specifically tailored to support the Council’s vision and goals. To know the status of each project and to keep the Council informed of the status, he created quarterly goals reports. The Council could then check the progress not only via periodic goals reports, but also during the City Manager’s annual evaluation, at the onset of the goals retreat the next year, and by examining the results of an annual citizen survey. All these actions ensured that the staff and the organization remained in touch with the values and perceptions held by the community. Elected officials and staff were also prepared in a much better way to answer any questions by constituents or the media regarding the City’s finances. The result was that Grants Pass, while not known for political stability, was able to face the recession in a much stronger financial position than most other cities. David Frasher and his staff were then awarded honors from the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in both budget presentation and financial reporting.

To know more about David Frasher, City Manager, visit www.davidfrasher.info.

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