The Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County officially dissolved Thursday. Now local officials are trying to move forward.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum says Chamber of Commerce members leaving the EDC spurred its decline. But he wants a new group to take its place.
“We need an economic development organization that is nimble and is prepared to take advantage of what is now a new economy being built," he said.
Gillum says the new organization could take control of $90 million in Blueprint 2000 sales tax receipts. That's just 12 percent of the revenue the voter-approved initiative will generate in the next two decades.
Earlier in the month the county’s Economic Development Council split from its long-time affiliation with the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. The EDC was a public/private partnership between Tallahassee, Leon County and private businesses. It's function was to recruit and retain businesses in the area.