The Italy Economic Development Corporation hired David Miracle of Ovilla as a consultant for the corporation at its monthly meeting held Monday evening.

Miracle originally approached the EDC at a previous meeting in the spring. He was invited to draw up a proposal to present to the board.

He came back Monday with a general service agreement to provide consultation to implement a strategic plan for the city.

He told the EDC that it was crucial to have as many folks in the community, including school board members, council members, business owners, etc, involved in this process. He said they would have a better chance of setting realistic goals for the community with more people involved.

Miracle’s fee was set not to exceed $4,500 pending approval from the Italy City Council.

Mark Stiles, chair of the EDC, said this is an important move. “We want to bring jobs and economic development to Italy.”

The EDC also heard from Gary Murray, auditor for the City of Italy.

Murray briefly outlined the audit done on the EDC in January of 2009. He pointed out that the EDC has a little over $155,000 in equity and has two outstanding payments remaining on the fire truck. The seventh payment is due in October of 2009 and the eighth concluding in 2010.

The board also considered moving the $115,000 in the TexStar account to a local bank.

Teri Murdock, city secretary/administrator, said TexStar rates are currently paying 0.3831 interest rates. She acquired interest rate proposals from both local banks. Stiles appointed Tom Little, Randy Boyd and Elmerine Bell to head a financial sub-committee to decide which bank might best suit the needs of the organization.

A final item dealt with the EDC management – the hours per month Murdock spends on EDC-related items. She was unable to give the board a set amount of time that she spends on the EDC and said it was too difficult to keep track of 15- minute conversations here and there.

Stiles finally made a proposal to reimburse the City of Italy $1,000 per month for use of the building and Murdock’s assistance. They will re-evaluate in 90 days through a subcommittee of Diego Garcia, Bell and Boyd.

The board plans to have a called and regular meeting on July 21 to pursue the strategic plan for the community.