A plan for Mankato area cities and counties to combine resources for economic development comes at a time when budgets are tight but the need for solid economic development is greater than ever.

Greater Mankato Growth hopes to establish a regional economic development consortium that would coordinate regional economic development, improve the area’s attractiveness to business and likely save participating governments money.

Regional economic development makes a lot of sense. It provides businesses looking to locate to the region with a one-stop shop to find out available sites in various regional cities. Because every city and county has different strengths, businesses would be able to find quickly the city or county location that fits their business needs.

These cooperative arrangements also go a long way toward eliminating the destructive bidding wars that cities and counties can get into when pursuing economic development.

Greater Mankato Growth, the combined Mankato chamber and convention bureau and economic development group, was asked by regional cities to come up with a cooperative model. Smaller towns like St. Peter, Le Sueur, Eagle Lake, Madison Lake, Mapleton and Lake Crystal have a desire to work in cooperation with GMG, as do Nicollet and Blue Earth counties. Mankato already is a partner with GMG.

Greater Mankato Growth has developed a draft partnership agreement and has been getting input from the prospective partners on the details of the agreement and principles under which the consortium would operate.

GMG would offer its technical assistance and research capabilities and be able to match the needs of prospective businesses with the cities and counties that could provide those services. It would be a clearing house for information on all the economic development deals that come through, so each city or county, even if they didn’t win the bid, could see the things that are needed.

Partners would agree to the objectives of business retention, new enterprise and emerging business development as well as new business development. The draft agreement also lays out guiding principles of economic prosperity, cooperation, and efficient and effective delivery of economic development services.

The agreement also suggests guidelines for how the business development processes will work, but does not proscribe specific actions that may vary from project to project.

Regional cities would be represented on the new partnership advisory committee. Ultimately, the regional cities could have seats on the GMG board.

The city of Mankato already has a partnership agreement with GMG. The new cooperative agreement would replace that agreement. North Mankato recently opted out of its agreement with GMG, but should consider membership in the new regional partnership.

The cooperative regional economic development model has been used in several other states, but has not yet taken hold in Minnesota. The Mankato region could be a leader in this respect. But more importantly, cooperative economic development efforts make economic sense, and in the long run, will be a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars.