Wage Growth Task Force to Present Report to Mayor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2016

For more information, please contact:
Mary Catherine Carmichael, Communications Director, carmichm@bloomington.in.gov, 812-349-3406

Wage Growth Task Force to Present Report to Mayor

Bloomington, Ind. - On Monday, December 12, Mayor John Hamilton will meet with members of the Wage Growth Task Force to accept the report they have been compiling since January. Members of the press and public are invited to join Mayor Hamilton and task force members at 3:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street. Copies of the report and an online link will be available.

The mandate of the Wage Growth Task Force is to develop an action plan to accelerate wage growth in the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Statistical Area to reverse economic underperformance relative the State and Nation since the Great Recession of 2008-2009.

With the overarching goal of moving Bloomington toward a stronger, more sustainable economy, Mayor Hamilton asked the group to consider the following questions:

• What are the most successful cities in America doing to help build a stronger, more sustainable economy?

• What key resources exist in Bloomington that can be coordinated or aligned to help achieve a better economy?

• What have we tried in the past that has worked well, or not so well, to improve our economy?

• What are some tangible steps that key local players could take to improve the economic future for all our residents?

Wage Growth Task Force members include:

Co-Chairs: David Audretsch, Distinguished Professor and Director, Institute for Development Strategies, Indiana University and Jane Martin, retired Venture Capitalist, Silicon Valley and Massachusetts

Members:

• Jerry Conover, Ph.D. Director, Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
• Lynn Coyne, President and CEO, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation
• Liz Feitl, AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison, United Way of Monroe County
• John Fernandez, Dentons U.S. Chief Innovation Officer and Partner
• Tom Guevara, Deputy Assistant secretary, Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
• William Morris, Staff Attorney, Indiana Legal Services-Bloomington
• Kathleen Oliver, Oliver Winery
• Tina Peterson, President and CEO, Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County
• Joseph Varga, Department of Labor Studies, Indiana University
• Ron Walker, Vice President, Commercial Real Estate, CFC Properties
• Linda Williamson, Mayor's Liaison for Economic Development

City of Bloomington Director of Economic and Sustainable Development Director Alex Crowley provided staff support.

Following receipt of the report, Mayor Hamilton will review the information and share the results with the Bloomington City Council and the public via the City of Bloomington website at bloomington.in.gov.

Two other task forces announced in January have completed their work. The Fiscal Task Force presented its findings in July and the Innovation Task Force presented its report in August.

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