PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Economic Development Council has turned down a curtailed Port Townsend city allocation in what has become a dispute over past finances and a future program for start-up businesses.
The action came after city officials questioned EDC’s financial practices under the economic council’s last administration — a situation the EDC president says has been cleared up.
EDC has a new executive director, Tamer Kirac, and a newly elected board.
The city of Port Townsend, facing a budget deficit of about $700,000, allocated $5,000 to the EDC for 2005 instead of the $27,000 Kirac and the board requested.
Although City Manager David Timmons proposed $10,000 for EDC, a City Council advisory committee halved the amount last week.
And the $5,000 came with a provision that the EDC spend it only on a potential business incubator built within the city limit.
Such an incubator allows start-up businesses to receive reduced rent, mentoring and business services to help successfully grow the business.
But leaders of the countywide EDC say they believed the city’s restrictions could create liability problems not worth the $5,000, so they turned it down.
“We were looking for day-to-day funding,” said Mark Jochems, new EDC board president.
“(The rejection) was not done in anger. It was done in a public eye to help them.”
Jochems said the EDC cannot guarantee that an incubator would be built in the city.
