The city of St. Paul gives Greater MSP $125,000 each year to work on regional economic development. But when the City Council heard Wednesday what that has paid for, some members questioned whether the city had been getting its money's worth.
Greater MSP, a public- private partnership, says it has been involved in the creation of 70 new jobs in the city over the past five years, and has helped retain 1,030 jobs.
Council Member Rebecca Noecker called the new job numbers "shockingly low," noting it equates to $9,000 contributed for each job added.
"These numbers … they just aren't good enough for our contribution," Council Member Chris Tolbert said.
The council did not take any action, but Greater MSP representatives pledged to increase their efforts in the city.
"We, too, had noticed there was a low job count in St. Paul," Greater MSP spokesman Mike Brown said. He said an initiative launched last summer to highlight business opportunities in a couple of neighborhoods of St. Paul and Minneapolis could help change that.
The city's investment helps pays for the work of 21 employees at Greater MSP, CEO Michael Langley said, and they are going to redouble their efforts to make sure St. Paul gets what it needs.
The public-private partnership headquartered in St. Paul is mostly funded by private companies, but Greater MSP draws about a fifth of its $6 million budget from local governments. Its 40-member board of directors includes St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and the CEOs of many companies in the Twin Cities area.