| Barbara Goodrich was named Interim City Manager of Flagstaff earlier this year. She came to City Hall in 2000 as the Finance Director, was promoted to Management Services Director in 2009 and then Assistant City Manager in 2015. We caught up with her to talk about her journey and her thoughts on Flagstaff’s economy. Below are the highlights, and you can see the entire interview here.
Tell us a little about your background. What brought you to Flagstaff? I moved to Flagstaff in 1977 after going on a country-wide trip with a friend of mine. Coming through Flagstaff in July was just beautiful, so I moved out in September and never left.
You served for many years as a financial officer for The Guidance Center. What was the nonprofit sector like? I believe non-profits are the lifeblood of any community. So many non-profits fill essential gaps in our community including but not limited to – mental health, physical health, substance abuse recovery, victim witness services, and the most recent project the City partnered on – homelessness. Certainly, health-related services aren’t the only niche for local non-profits as we look to the work of United Way, Flagstaff Arts Council, Flagstaff Symphony, and Theatrikos. I absolutely believe in the mission of non-profits and I’m glad this is where I found my niche.
You’ve talked a lot about increased diversification of Flagstaff’s economy. Can you elaborate on that?Any community that is overly reliant on one sector for ongoing financial stability is at risk. It is best that a community can find a balance between sectors so that if one area ebbs another one might blossom. The City is currently heavily reliant on both the tourism and governmental/education employment sectors. When the most recent recession hit and layoffs occurred in those sectors we experienced significant revenue losses both locally and through the State of Arizona. If our local economy were better balanced with more firms focused in development/manufacturing like Gore and Nestle or scientific research like U.S.G.S., we would weather another recession a little better.
That being said, tourism and NAU remain huge economic factors in Flagstaff, right? Our continued relevance in tourism is directly due to our efforts in both local, national, and international venues. On a local level, we heavily promote our local businesses. Our local Craft Beers event, the Flagstaff’s Lunar Legacy (celebrating the 50th anniversary on the lunar landing and all astronauts trained in Flagstaff), and the ‘Visit, Discover, Grow’ campaign all provide outreach to companies to encourage them to locate permanently here. Plus our overall rich offering in everything outdoors is a big attractor. Tourism provides about 50% of our sales tax revenues and pays for a lot of our city amenities.
Northern Arizona University students make up about 30% of our overall city population and the university enriches our community in a number of ways. The University itself continues to gain recognition for their program quality, their research activity, their growth in indigenous/Native American student populations, and quality, competitive athletic teams. Students in our community work here, play here, eat here, volunteer here, and add to the diversity of conversation we have on local issues. In addition to this, they are an absolute economic driver being almost one-third of the population.
What do you see as ECONA’s role in maintaining and growing the Flagstaff region’s economic vitality? It is important to have a regional perspective and ECONA provides that link. When our region grows, we all benefit. It is critical to have the efforts of the City and County coordinated as we have similar goals. We want to retain the local talent that comes from NAU. We want diversification in our employment sectors. We want our citizens to be financially stable. We want folks to be able to find housing that is affordable. We want our citizens to be successful in the long term. ECONA can provide a level of expertise matching the resources that either the City has through our Economic Vitality staff or NACET or the Chamber.
To see the full interview with Barbara Goodrich, click HERE.
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