WHILE its Jobs Creation Strategy is set to address employment in the wake of the Electrolux closure next year, an additional Orange City Council committee will set its sights further.
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Councillor Jeff Whitton said the council had been without an economic development officer for more than a decade and while other staff had filled the void at different times, an economic development community committee was needed to explore potential opportunities for existing and prospective Orange businesses.
He has put his name forward to be on the committee once it begins meetings on Wednesday.
“The council’s jobs creation strategy is for Electrolux only, this is for the city as a whole,” he said.
He said the committee would assist businesses in finding programs they would not otherwise be aware of, using the council’s in-house expertise.
“They do what they normally do and it never comes into their heads to use government programs,” he said.
But Cr Whitton said the committee’s crucial role would be to bid for the larger employers to bring their businesses to Orange.
“You can wait for them to come to the city, but we should be more proactive than that,” he said.
“It means our children can be employed and it just makes Orange a better place to live and raise a family,” he said.
Cr Whitton stressed while the committee and the council would assist businesses if they chose to come to Orange, they would still have to comply with the council’s approval processes.
“Just because it’s in the committee, it doesn’t mean any shortcuts,” he said.