Dallas EDC to revise 2022–26 economic strategy, begin annual reporting and consider more frequent working sessions

The Dallas Economic Development Commission began a process to revise its five-year strategic economic development plan, with staff and several members urging a series of focused working sessions to complete the update.

"We're at the end of that five-year horizon of that strategy," a staff member told the commission, saying the group should decide whether to retain a five-year horizon or shorten it to three years as it revises its priorities.

Why it matters: The plan guides daily commission work and city recommendations to council. The commission's stated top purpose for the strategy has been to increase the commercial and industrial property tax base in Dallas. Members said producing the annual report required by municipal code would improve accountability and provide a baseline for future strategy changes.

What happened: Staff reviewed the existing strategy's backbone — priorities to address commercial lands and prepare the mill site for development — and urged commissioners to consider a mix of outreach, targeted marketing and possible programmatic incentives. Commissioners asked staff to circulate findings from the city's recent Transportation Growth Management (TGM) study and the citizen survey results to inform revisions.

Commissioner Brian Dalton emphasized measurement: "The more we can do to solidify our milestones and keep track of what real impact we're having ... is what we can do to try and make an impact," he said, urging honest review of past performance.

Members discussed state-level constraints on recruitment. One member argued that Oregon's tax structure and social-service priorities can influence private-sector decisions to invest and suggested coordinated advocacy to state agencies, Business Oregon and the governor's office.

Next steps and timing: Staff recommended a phased exercise that begins now and may extend into future meetings; members agreed to poll availability and consider meeting more frequently than every other month to finish the revision in a timely way. Staff will also circulate the TGM study and the most recent citizen survey before the next meeting.

Context and limitations: The commission does not adopt policy directly; it develops and recommends plans to council under Dallas municipal code. Any changes that require boundary amendments, new borrowing, or formal plan amendments will follow the statutory processes outlined in the urban renewal and municipal code sections that staff reviewed.

The commission did not take a formal vote on final strategy changes at this meeting; the revision process was opened for future working sessions.