Marlin Eldred, CEcD
Economic Development Director
Lehi City
Lehi, UT
Mr. Marlin Eldred has vast experience in municipal, county and private economic development. Specifically, he has served over 17 years helping private and public entities expand their economic programs. Most recently, he is the Economic Development Director of Lehi City. Where he is responsible for business retention and recruitment, downtown revitalization, community engagement and helping to create a better quality of life for Lehi residents. While he is new to the position he hopes to bring his vast knowledge and experience to help Lehi grow into the future.
As the President and CEO of Economic Development Planning Group he worked with numerous rural communities and counties in the State of Utah. Projects include contract negotiations, Economic Development Strategic Planning, meeting facilitation and consensus building, Community Development Area Creation, Sales Tax Leakage Study and more. With his diverse background Mr. Eldred can help municipalities determine the realities of where they are at with economic development, create a feasible path and generate goals to accomplish desired outcomes. Relationship building and a defined path are two critical keys to success.
As the Community and Economic Development Director in Davis County, he worked directly with 15 cities—developing 18 Community Development Areas (CDAs) and establishing business retention programs throughout the county. He was the Administrator of Council of Governments and a $4.5M Business Development Loan Fund. Mr. Eldred was instrumental in working with cities to attract new and relocating businesses to Davis County. One of his most distinguished accomplishments was the establishment of Davis Unified Economic Development (DUED).
Previous to his service to Davis County, Mr. Eldred served as the Economic Development Director for the city of Jerome, ID. He helped attract over $150 million in new business to the local economy and established the first County Urban Renewal District in the state of Idaho. Working with Urban Renewal, Mr. Eldred garnered an understanding of the intricacies of tax assessment and mill levies. He created and implemented a business satisfaction survey and SWOT analysis to determine business requirements. Mr. Eldred is exceptionally familiar with the municipal budgeting process and has completed strategic marketing and strategic plans to comply with the overarching city priorities as set forth by the Mayor and City Council.
Mr. Eldred forged strong relationships with many major business owners in the community and worked with local business, government organizations and groups for business retention and expansion. Mr. Eldred also served as the Economic Development Director for Emery County. Here, he received 501c3 status for the local Community Development Corporation (CDC). He created training programs that generated over 80 jobs and was an Economic Development Area (EDA) grant administrator. He was also involved in the line-item budgeting for 9 county departments.
Mr. Eldred was born and raised in Utah. He joined the Marine Corps after high school and has been around the world. He left the military to pursue his educational goals and holds a master from The University of Phoenix and has received his Community Development Certification and is one of three Certified Economic Development practitioners in the State of Utah. He is married to the love of his life, Jill and they have four wonderful children and one grandchild.