Ask The City – What is Being Done to Create Jobs?
Your Question:
What is Laramie doing to create new jobs?Its such a beautiful college town, but also a great community someone may want to integrate into. What jobs do you see other than what you already have? Do you see anything new in the future for people who want to move to town? I have family I would like to join...
The City's Answer:
Job creation is more of a holistic coordinated effort than a single City of Laramie endeavor. In Laramie, job creation is treated as a process guided through the efforts of many organizations with diverse missions, socioeconomic leadership, and specialized resources. These organizations come together with a common
desire to cooperate and support each other’s efforts for the greater good of the community.
Some particularly noteworthy community-based organizations consist of (but not limited to) the following:
Laramie Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) has taken the lead on working to recruit companies to our community and assist existing companies with their expansion plans to provide “primary” jobs for the residents of Albany County and the City of Laramie. The definition of a primary job is a job that creates a product or service that is exported from our community. By exporting products or services it brings in new wealth from outside the community, therefore, increasing the amount of money circulated within the community. In addition to enhancing the community’s wealth, primary jobs typically pay a higher wage and provide better employee benefits. Currently the LEDC is placing significant effort on recruitment of data centers and related high-technology businesses. In addition, a new trans-load rail site will open for business
recruitment/development purposes. (www.LaramieWY.org)
Laramie Area Chamber of Commerce provides a broad range of business assistance and development aimed at keeping local businesses up to date and operationally healthy. If local businesses are not thriving and growing, it becomes extremely difficult to recruit new companies to the area. (www.Laramie.org )
Laramie MainStreet Alliance is focused on maintaining and encouraging a thriving downtown area with entertainment and events, historic preservation, and business assistance thus attracting customers and enhancing business. The Alliance consists of the Downtown Laramie Business Association and the Downtown
Development Authority. (www.laramiemainstreet.org)
Albany County Tourism Board provides consistent marketing efforts to attract major events, conventions, and over-all tourist traffic to our community in support of the hospitality industry in our community. (www.VisitLaramie.org )
Laramie Beautification Committee is an all-volunteer community-wide coalition focusing on community aesthetics and beautification for any area of town that need attention. This committee hosts the Spring Clean-Up Day and the Fall Community Service Day to plant trees. The committee also promotes public art and
mitigation of abandoned buildings. By beautifying our community, residents and businesses alike take pride in the community.
We think the question should be more along the line of, “What is the City of Laramie doing to support job creation?”
The City of Laramie provides various levels of support for these aforementioned organizations and for job creation initiatives, including expertise sharing within city departments and, in some instances, financial assistance. By far, the most important efforts the City of Laramie provides toward job creation is by providing clean well-maintained streets, beautiful public parks, and continually updating our water/sewer infrastructure. As shared before, without these essential amenities, recruiting businesses to our community or encouraging existing business to thrive would not be possible.
Yes, we do see a great future for people who want to move here. There are currently many opportunities available. The Wyoming Workforce stated they have approximately 250 vacant positions that need to be filled. (https://www.wyomingatwork.com )
If anyone is interested in helping our city to grow we ak that you review the referenced organizations’ websites and contact them to discuss what they are doing; and, in nearly every instance, they could use volunteer assistance.
Please remember that you are free to make comments below about this question or submit your own question HERE.