IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
San Bernardino has received a $150,000 grant from the Irvine Foundation that will help pay for an economic consultant.
Bruce Katz, director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University in Philadelphia, will develop an investment plan that will help the city match its financial needs with public and private funding sources, according to a statement on the city’s website.
A recent increase in state and federal funds to municipalities is making it possible for cities to make more long-term investments.
However, those funds are being provided in a number of ways, including block grants, tax incentives, formula grants and competitive grants. All of those are coming from a variety of agencies, and cities must be well-organized to take full advantage of them.
“Having someone with the knowledge and expertise of Bruce Katz come to San Bernardino to analyze our needs, identify funding sources and provide strategic guidance is a chance that most cities don’t get,” said City Manager Robert Field. “We can’t wait to get started.”
Katz, an author and urban policy expert, was chief of staff to Henry Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton Administration.
