DALLAS — Dallas has its first Economic Development Corporation after the City Council unanimously approved the board of directors for the new project, which the mayor called part of the city's new economic philosophy.
Economic development corporations allow cities to finance new and expanded business enterprises using sales tax revenue -- this includes funding industrial development projects, public transportation and jobs training classes and providing grants and incentives to local businesses for expansion.
EDCs can't just give money to businesses though — they have to make a performance agreement where the business meets certain criteria to qualify for the money, like investing a certain amount of capital or creating a certain number of jobs.
"Dallas took a major step forward today in our efforts to become even more economically competitive," Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement. "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 previously named the creation of an EDC as one of his top administrative priorities. Many cities around the metroplex and around the state have EDCs already.
The new economic philosophy the EDC is supposed to be a part of is to recognize the city is competing with other major cities in Texas as well as across the United States, Johnson said in his November 2021 State of the City address.
"It's time to assert ourselves more aggressively," Mayor Johnson said at 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 men and seven women, who are all executives at large businesses in the city, including T-Mobile USA, The Real Estate Council and the Dallas Symphony Association. Each member serves a term of up to four years and is eligible for reappointment for three-year terms, the city said, but no director can serve more than eight consecutive years.
Here's a full list 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
