SAINT JOHN – Enterprise Saint John has received the backing of the regional oversight committee for its work plan and direction, an about-face from late last year when the committee couldn’t say if the agency was producing a good enough return on the money invested by the five municipalities.
There were rumblings of discontent back in December over ESJ where chair of the committee, Saint John mayor Don Darling, said it couldn’t say for sure whether communities are getting a good return on investments. Now, Darling is saying that their hard work has resulted in a plan with clear, measureable goals.
Enterprise Saint John’s key performance indicators for this year, which have been approved by the ROC, include having 20 new start-ups, 750 students engaged as potential entrepreneurs, 600 new and retained jobs from existing businesses and more.
Darling says the mayors are going to be updating their councils on the ESJ work plan and finalizing their investments for this year. Quispamsis had decided to cut its funding in half while Grand Bay-Wesfield town council voted to provide more than $25,000 in funding.
The ROC is made up of the five regional mayors along with two private sector investors in Enterprise Saint John.
