Antioch Moves to Rebuild Economic Development as Sales Tax Revenue Slides $1.7M

Antioch's City Council used a special meeting to confront a stark fiscal reality: sales tax revenue is heading in the wrong direction, commercial corridors are dotted with blight, and the city has gone 18 months without a dedicated economic development leader. After six public commenters and an extensive council debate, staff was directed to return Sept. 22 with two structural options for restoring that capacity — and a salary range designed to attract a candidate who can actually reverse the trend.

• Council directs staff to bring back two options for rebuilding economic development function — a standalone department or an assistant city manager focused on business attraction — with updated salary ranges and a potential headhunter RFP by Sept. 22

• Sales tax revenue down $1.7 million, with the decline accelerating; council members call the situation urgent

• Six public commenters unite behind re-establishing a standalone department, demanding measurable goals, adequate budget, and a "hunter" who will pursue businesses rather than wait for them

• $150,000 annual contract approved (4-0) for independent monitoring of the Allen Settlement Agreement tied to the police texting scandal

• Nearly a decade-long vacancy gap revealed: the economic development director position sat empty from roughly 2008 to 2018, and has been vacant again since March 2025

A city that has gone without a dedicated economic development director for 18 of the last 17 years is trying — again — to get it right.