City of Boise Economic Recovery Task Force Recommendations
Mayor Lauren McLean
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on our community, including the businesses that have grown to be staples in all our neighborhoods and an important part of our city’s identity. In May of this year, we convened a group of trusted leaders, representative of our diverse business community, to map out a road to recovery and resilience, both in the short-term and long-term.
Today, I am happy to share the purposeful and focused Economic Recovery Task Force Report the team created. The recommended actions, policies and innovative solutions will require continued collaboration with both the business community and our residents. I am optimistic that, together, we will advance the goals of a vibrant, creative economic future for everyone.
The recommendations put forth by the Task Force center on three strategic areas of focus. Each focus areas includes recommended actions and a general timeframe for achieving the outcomes.
- Public Health and Safety: Provide leadership and direct resources to support a healthy, safe and resilient community.
- Housing Populations Who Have Become Increasingly Vulnerable: Provide resources to support housing assistance for increasingly vulnerable populations and increase housing supply along with options that promote affordability.
- Employment and Workforce:
- Advance partnerships to provide grants and resource education/assistance.
- Identify resources and partnerships to support critical workforce needs.
- Support new- and re-skilling of workforce.
- Connect businesses and organizations at multiple scales to encourage resource sharing and best practices.
- Identify and promote job opportunities to support a clean energy transition.
"The Idaho Community Foundation supports the strategic focus areas and recommendations of the city's Economic Recovery Task Force,” said Karen Bilowith, CEO of Idaho Community Foundation. “They are issues we have similarly identified as Areas of Impact after a statewide listening tour and during conversations with our partners and grantees. Physical and mental health, housing, employment and workforce were crucial issues before the pandemic, and they have been magnified over the last six months in Boise and statewide. We are committed to assisting the City of Boise with implementation of the task force recommendations."
“COVID-19 has left many businesses and their employees displaced or left without a meaningful income. Others have had to rethink working arrangements, adopting new paradigms such as virtual environments. The work done by the Economic Recovery Task Force recognized these impacts on our business community and residents, and the recommendations aim to address how we recover from the economic impacts of the virus together,” said Melanie Rubocki, Partner at Perkins Coie
I am grateful to each of the Task Force members for their commitment to ensuring we do all we can for the good of community. I am humbled that each of them is committed to doing the work beyond the longevity of the Task Force.
I encourage our community to read the report and share feedback on the proposed actions: www.cityofboise.org/economic-recovery-task-force-report