I am rapidly developing a crush on Larry Kujovich, a member of the group of financial consultants hired by the City of DeKalb.
Still working on taking in the whole of the April 13 workshop video, I swooned this time during a discussion of image-building as part of economic development strategy.
Use terms like “image building” and “branding” and I reflexively roll my eyes because such exercises are futile when the desired image and reality live in different zip codes. But I quickly regained focus when Mr. Kujovich said this:
[I]f you survey potential businesses, would they consider DeKalb business friendly? I don’t know the answer to that question. We have heard anecdotal evidence; some say that DeKalb is one of the most business-unfriendly cities they’ve ever encountered. Well, if that’s the case, economic development will be a challenge. So, it’s something that perhaps could be addressed.

