Cayuga County and the city of Auburn are on the clock for economic development, and it won't be too long before that clock stops ticking.

A group of community stakeholders is proposing the creation of a new agency that would take on the task of finding and keeping jobs for both the city and county. The idea is part of A Call to Action: A Blueprint for Our Region's Future, a seven-part plan developed by approximately two dozen members brought together by state Sen. Michael Nozzolio.

The Blueprint addresses ways to advance the area”s economy and quality of life.

The Blueprint group announced the idea for the development organization last month to local business people and government officials. The group has been able to secure private funds that could launch and temporarily support such an agency until it becomes self-sustaining.

However, that money will only be available until the end of the year, according to Guy Cosentino, one of the Blueprint creators and executive director of the Stardust Foundation. If they do not receive a commitment to the plan from city and county officials, the funds for the agency will go away.

Officials already missed one deadline, Cosentino said. The Blueprint group held a meeting and presented the idea in April, asking city and county representatives to bring them some feedback within two weeks. They were “disappointed” when they did not hear back, he said.

"If people won”t come to the table to talk about what we are talking about, maybe we will have to deal with (development) some other way," Cosentino said. "We”re trying to facilitate discussion."

According to Cosentino, the agency would ideally be a non-profit organization with a board populated mostly by private citizens. However, both city and county officials must also sit on the board.

"You must have local governments take part. If you don”t, this is a moot point," he said.

The organization would not necessarily be a one-stop shop for economic development, where it would handle every and projects. Cosentino said it would rather be more of a "first-stop shop" for development in the city, county towns and villages.

If a company is looking to relocate or expand, they do not have to wade through the "alphabet soup" of development organizations to find what they need, he said. They can just start with this agency.

"This is a place that can be used to funnel prospects to local organizations and economic development organizations," Cosentino said. "You literally have a person who can identify what all the tools in the toolbox are."

Cortland County has a similar setup, he said, and Onondaga County is currently considering it.

This is not the only idea for economic development to be proposed in recent months. Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh expressed interest Friday in a cooperative effort between the city and the county.

"I would definitely support ... a form of one-stop shopping for new businesses in the county," Palesh said.

In May, Auburn Industrial Development Agency Chairman Charles Mace suggested hiring a firm to market both the city and the county to businesses.

County officials announced earlier this month their intention to reform the Cayuga County Development Corporation and create a new position to handle development. Daniel Schuster, a county legislator and chairman of the county Planning Committee, suggested that the CCDC could possibly become the organization described by the Blueprint.

Various parties have been speaking with one another about the possibilities for the organization, Schuster said. But everyone -- such as the Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency and the legislature -- must be on board before a decision is made, he said.

"I think it is close enough where everyone is pointing in the same direction," Schuster said. "The devil is always in the details."

County Legislative Chairman Roger Mills said one challenge with a one-stop development agency is finding a way to fund it after the initial money runs out. One possibility is through sales tax from the extra economic activity it generates, Mills said.

"That”s a hurdle," Mills said. "It is pretty easy to put aside $40,000 or $100,000 for the first year ... but economic development has to be something that is continuous."

Cosentino said an agency like the one proposed by the Blueprint group will likely cost approximately $300,000 a year to run. The sales tax idea has worked with other similar organizations, he said.

However, Cosentino said the Blueprint group has a concept in mind of an agency with specific requirements, and he doesn't”t know if the CCDC meets those standards.

There is also a four-letter word in politics, he said. That word is "turf." A brand new organization is needed to avoid the "baggage" that comes with old ones, Cosentino said.

If municipal governments can organize and work together, they can create more jobs, which is something everyone wants, he said.

"Things in government tend to be easier if nobody cares who gets the credit, and our hope is that people keep that in mind," Cosentino said. "Our goal, if anything, is not about who gets the slice of the current pie. It is about growing that pie."

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net