Council needs to make a decision on cash-strapped WEDC

The Wauwatosa Economic Development Corp. will be out of money in little more than a month's time, WEDC board secretary Lisa Mauer told a Common Council Committee of the Whole last night.

The committee met to hear a consultant's presentation on recommendations for handling economic development within the city. One of the suggestions is to dissolve the WEDC in its existing form and move it under the direction of the city's Community Development Department.

However, the consultant recommended keeping the existing WEDC structure operating through 2009 to allow a transition period.

"The Common Council needs to immediately make a decision if it's going to provide any intermediate funding for WEDC," Mauer said. "We will be out of funds at the end of June."

WEDC board members hope to make some decisions as to how it will wrap up its operations at its next meeting Tuesday, May 19, but there are lots of unknowns at this time, she said.

Common Council President James Krol said a lot of discussion needs to take place between now and June and that a transition team needs to be appointed. No specific dates were set to deal with economic development issues.