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BASTROP — Balancing commercial growth with preserving Bastrop’s smalltown identity has city leaders considering whether the city’s economic development arm has outlived its original purpose and should be dissolved.
The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) is funded by a special sales tax and aims to promote citywide fiscal growth through infrastructure improvements, targeted investments and quality-of-life projects. City Council and the BEDC board last month discussed ways to make the nonprofit more responsive to Bastrop’s evolving needs and more transparent for residents.
“We want to incentivize companies to come here for potential jobs for the citizens, but an unhappy community doesn’t care about what comes in,” Mayor Ishmael Harris said. “We have to make sure the citizens have something that keeps them happy.”
According to officials, economic development corporations can be a valuable tool for economic growth. They can offer loans to private businesses, manage property and fill other gaps cities are not eligible to.
City Manager Sylvia Carrillo- Trevino said these responsibilities tied to the city have raised questions among residents about purchasing authority and land acquisition.
At a council retreat earlier this year, city leaders committed to shifting toward community-centered development, stating that economic growth must benefit residents.
BEDC’s goals include maximizing business investment and aggressively seeking companies to locate in Bastrop.
However, BEDC funds could be used in more community- focused ways, according to officials.
The organization is allowed to fund amateur sports, which some council members pointed out could go toward improvements at Mayfest Park or a new swimming pool for competitions and community recreation.
BEDC has a reserve fund of about $10 million and around $4 million in debt or other obligations, according to officials. Carrillo-Trevino said declining sales tax revenue has limited options for the organization.
“Right now, at a revenue of $1.1 million, there’s not really a whole lot BEDC can do,” she said. “We’re at a point where we’re going to have to make a decision on how to move forward.”
If dissolved, the city would need to create a new economic development department. Remaining BEDC funds would go toward other projects staffing for that addition, according to the city manager.
Council and board members also considered replacing the economic development sales tax with a public safety tax to fund a Crime Control and Prevention District. This measure would redirect future funds to support the Police Department with additional officers not paid through the city’s general fund.
Alternatively, the council could vote to keep BEDC active and redirect it toward community-based development focused on qualityof-life projects.
