Oregon city officials unanimously agreed April 14 to hire a manager to oversee a newly established Main Street program to spur economic growth and help existing businesses.

Council members voted 5-0 to approve the full-time managerial position and authorize City Manager Darin DeHaan to begin seeking candidates.

DeHaan told council members in March that costs to support a Main Street program could be paid by moving all gaming revenue to the city’s economic development fund.

DeHaan researched Main Street programs in the surrounding area as well as across the state. He said Dixon, Freeport and Sterling currently have Main Street programs.

Tuesday night, DeHaan said a few business people had reached out to him to ask more questions about the program and offer suggestions to help existing businesses.

“They wanted to learn more about the program. I did not receive any negative comments, but I did receive positive comments,” DeHaan said.

The majority of Main Street programs in Illinois are operated as 501(c)(3) not-for-profits funded by municipalities, DeHaan said, adding that Dixon combined Main Street, its Chamber and economic development all under one umbrella.

According to DeHaan, Oregon is projected to receive $240,000 in gaming for fiscal 2027. He estimated a $135,200 annual budget for the Main Street program that would include costs for staffing, marketing and economic growth initiatives, such as adding more festivals.

He estimated the starting annual salary for a Main Street manager at about $53,000.

The move comes several months after the Oregon Chamber of Commerce ceased operations. The Chamber was funded primarily by business memberships, but the city had expended $8,000 to help the Chamber annually, DeHaan said.

The Main Street manager will be tasked with organizing events that used to be offered by the Chamber, such as pop-up events, sidewalk sales, sip and strolls and other events to help draw people to Oregon businesses.

During Tuesday’s public comment period, John Dickson, who questioned using public tax dollars to help private businesses at last month’s meeting, said the city would need to see an increase in $5 million in economic growth to cover the cost of the manager’s salary.

“I used the 1% sales tax just to try to help in conceptualize what kind of impact this manager has to do,” Dickson said. “So that’s $5 million worth of extra economic growth coming into the city. One percent of that is $50,000. I would hope that the person we put in that position brings at least $5 million worth of improvements into the city, hopefully more.”

Dickson said specific goals need to be established for the new manager to meet.

“Then we’ll have regular years to see if the objectives are met,” Dickson said, adding that he was in favor of the program. “From what I’ve seen from the financing and the money is available and what we discussed about the future, how this manager’s organization will be handled, I was pleased to see that it will be set up as a 501c3 organization. I thought that was a good foresight. I’d just like to see the city manage that well and make sure that these dollar objectives are met.”

Council member Terry Schuster agreed.

“We need to make sure we have a way of measuring the impact at the end of the year and see if we have some appreciative differences or changes in our community, businesses,...money that flows through town and things like that. And I think that is very doable,” Schuster said.

Mayor Ken Williams said the Main Street program will be much broader in scope than a Chamber of Commerce – focusing on all businesses – while working on sustaining existing merchants and offering new programs and events.

He said retail business and revenue matter to everyone in the city, and that retail is essential to the community’s vitality.

“Basically, when we support local businesses we’re supporting ourselves, and it’s for the long-term strength of our city,” he said.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Revenue, Williams said, there are 138 businesses with an Oregon physical address that are registered to pay sales tax.

DeHaan was authorized by the council to begin advertising for the managerial position.

About Illinois Main Street

Illinois Main Street is part of Main Street America, a national movement of individuals and organizations with a shared commitment to “bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together.”

According to the Illinois Main Street website, member communities are Aledo, Alton, Batavia, Bloomington, Canton, Carbondale, Crystal Lake, Dixon, Elgin, Glen Ellyn, Freeport, Jacksonville, Libertyville, Matteson, Monticello, Morris, Mount Sterling, Park Forest, Paxton, Pontiac, Quincy, Rockford, Springfield, Sterling, West Chicago, Wheaton and Wood River.