State economic department reorganizes

The Missouri Department of Economic Development Wednesday announced an internal reorganization that consolidates two of its divisions and creates focus teams.

The department’s business development and trade division and community development division are merging. Out of the newly formed division will come focus teams that will spend less time in Jefferson City and more time working around Missouri and the country to work directly with business leaders.

“We’re going to adopt more of a business model to create a more sales-driven environment,” DED Director Greg Steinhoff said at the announcement today.

By “sales,” he means selling Missouri.

“We’ve got a great story to sell, but we don’t have the resources to sell it,” he said.

New focus teams will include a sales team, a marketing team, a finance team and a compliance team.

Steinhoff said the reorganization will not result in staff members losing their jobs.

“This is a process of assessing our existing staff and looking at where their expertise can best serve our teams,” he said.

The sales team will partner with local officials to discuss how to create jobs and stimulate private investments in Missouri.

The finance team will package finance deals and suggest appropriate incentives that the sales team can present to community leaders.

Promoting Missouri will be the marketing team’s top priority, giving the sales team a platform to sell the state to outside businesses looking to relocate or expand.

The compliance team will be responsible for monitoring the department’s financial incentives for businesses and making sure federal compliance standards are being followed.

The General Assembly has authorized a 2.5 percent fee to be placed on all of the department’s tax credit programs, in order to allow the department to visit with executives in the country’s most prosperous cities and convince them to do business in Missouri.

The department’s new structure also allows for industry specialists – staff members who have specific knowledge of a certain industry to promote job creation and entrepreneurship in those areas, Steinhoff said.

“We’re moving away from simply administering and implementing programs,” he said. “Our No. 1 goal is to sell Missouri, and that theme will be reinforced on a daily basis.”

Changes to the department’s job classifications and economic incentives are being developed by the department’s incentives review committee. The committee will submit recommended changes to Steinhoff, who will forward them to Gov. Matt Blunt’s office.