The city recognizes that it is critical to update and synthesize its economic development vision from the 2004 and 2012 strategies, and create a more defined implementation strategy to guide future endeavors. This new city-wide Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP) provides a framework to enable the city to pursue a proactive, comprehensive economic development effort aimed at increasing the local tax base, attracting new employers, enabling existing employers to grow, and supporting the continued development of the arts and tourism industries. The ultimate goal is to sustain and expand the economic base in order to provide for a high quality of life for all residents.
The City of Cumberland retained the services of RKG Associates, Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia to provide the technical analysis and consensus building within the city administration, the Cumberland Economic Development Commission, the EDSP Steering Committee, and the community as a whole. While RKG provided the technical analysis and guided discussions around defining and prioritizing implementation actions, it was the community as a whole that came together to define success. The various sections of the report are at the below link for perusal.