In 2010, the City of Bradford applied to take part in the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Early Intervention program. This move was intended to help address the city’s financial struggle at the time.
This week, City administrator Chris Lucco noted that the current participation in STMP provides opportunities to address issues in more than one phase.
“The EIP was very similar in nature to the STMP. The largest difference is there are multiple phases of STMP and the ability to get further funding to help with the recommended initiatives,” Lucco said. “I believe there were parts of the EIP that were very helpful and parts that may not have fit into the city’s vision or were not financially able to be done. There were things that were tried, but later determined to not work as hoped.”
He noted one specific example was the recommendation to add the position of Chief Financial Officer. Lucco noted the city hired a CFO in 2013 as
recommended in the EIP, but in 2017 that position was eliminated as it was determined to not have the benefits that came with the expense.
“Ultimately the duties from that position were placed back into the city administrator’s office allowing for the reduction in a management level position,” he said.
The opportunity to enter the STMP at this point was a proactive approach for the city.
“I believe the reason for entering the STMP program was that city council felt it was very cost-friendly and would provide an up-to-date perspective from the EIP. As many of the issues plaguing the city still exist, no one plan is going to address issues that existed 10 years ago as well as current day issues. Many of those may have changed since the EIP was completed, as well as potential fixes and resolutions to those issues certainly have evolved,” Lucco said. “I believe it was a proactive step for city council to take advantage of the STMP program not only to identify and prepare for future issues but to obtain further assistance to implement some of the recommendations.”
A representative from the Department of Community and Economic Development was in attendance Tuesday and shared that some area communities, such as Warren, are in Phase 4 of the STMP process. Each phase means up to $200,000 in grant funds to address areas that need updated. The city would be required to provide a 10% match, and each phase round involves a three-year contract. The program allows for the city to put together different recommendations to address in a phase.
