Wanted: Economic development officer. High school diploma will do

Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach lowered the minimum educational qualifications required for one of the top jobs in his administration and then reposted the job at the same salary range.

The original job posting for economic vitality specialist on July 1 required a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

On July 12, the job was reposted, requiring only a high school diploma or a GED.

(Should the mayor require college degrees for key posts in his administration? Vote in poll.)

Bach said Wednesday he changed the job posting because he wanted a wider pool of candidates. He didn’t change it because he had a specific person in mind who didn’t have a college degree, he said.

Bach said the city’s human resources office “inserted” the college degree requirement in the first job posting, which he didn’t review before it was posted.

“I guess they just put that in postings for positions reporting directly to the mayor,” he said, adding that he didn’t think a college degree should be mandatory for that job.

Bach said his decision to change the educational qualifications is part of his larger plan to have city government “better reflect” the community.

“I believe there are people out there who may or may not have a four-year college degree who have life experience, professional expertise, that is equivalent” to a college degree, he said.

“So, in order to open this up, as I will for future openings to a broader spectrum of our community, I don’t want it to be absolutely paramount that somebody have a college degree,” the mayor said.

The city said it received 23 applications through the first job posting and 40 through the second, according to documents obtained by The Gazette. Applicants who applied in the first round didn’t have to reapply.

The original posting called for a bachelor’s degree with “major course work in economics, public or business administration, urban or regional land use planning, finance, or a related field.”

Bach, who made economic development, which he’s calling economic vitality, a cornerstone of his mayoral campaign, could announce his pick as early as this week, said Stephannie Finley, who took a leave from her job at the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce to help the mayor for a month.

“He has three good candidates so far,” she said. “He’s anxious to get this person on board. He’s got a lot of work for them.”

Under the latest job posting, the economic vitality specialist will be the spokesperson and liaison “for the newly created area of Economic Vitality” and responsible for “developing, implementing and managing economic development programs that contribute to a stronger local economy.”

The original job posting stated that the job required four years of professional experience in “urban or regional land use planning, economic development, community development/redevelopment, finance or a related area.”

The second job posting, which states that post-secondary education is “preferred,” no longer requires experience in urban or regional land use planning. Now, it calls for four years of professional experience in organizational management in addition to economic development, community development/redevelopment, finance or a related area.

The salary range under both job postings was $5,939 to $7,424 a month, or up to $89,000 a year.

The mayor made other changes, too. For example, under the first posting, the position reported directly to the mayor. Under the second, the position reports to the chief economic vitality officer. Bach is serving as chief economic vitality officer for the time being, but he may hire someone to take that job in the future.

“He is reserving that opportunity to do so, but for now, he will serve in it,” Finley said.