Susanville in collaboration with the Susanville Indian Rancheria has entered into a one-year agreement to utilize an advanced tracking service to boost economic development efforts across the city.
Tamara Spade, Economic Development Director presented the program to the council during the Susanville City Council meeting on Wednesday, August 7, “Placer Labs Inc. will track, analyze, and provide insights into Susanville economic trends, the data will help asses with the economic impact of the Susanville sales tax revenue, optimize advertising strategies by targeting the right channels to locations and additional monitoring traffic patterns this will aid in planning infrastructure improvements, and enhancing visitors experience.”
The total cost split between the City and SIR is 16,000 dollars for a one-year contract that would be required to be renewed yearly. Funds would come from the econ dev profess services budget
Council member Curtis Bortle raised the question of what data was analyzed. Spade detailed the data would track the movement of those visiting a local business or event, such as how many are visiting the location, where they are coming from to get there, how long they are staying, and where they are going after leaving the business. The software can track this data as far back as three years according to Spade.
This could show trends in population growth, event success, workforce, and more.
Mayor Mendy Schuster raised concerns about how the data would be collected. Spade suggested that data would come from your cell phone by tracking GIS. As far as confidentiality Spade assured the council that your personal information would not be shared.
The program was unanimously approved with the intention that the contract is for a one-year term and the project would be reevaluated at that time.
