While the City of Turlock has been a member of the Stanislaus Business Alliance since 1994, on Tuesday the two entities entered into an official agreement with the sanctioning of the Turlock City Council.

The adoption of a memorandum of understanding between the Alliance and the City of Turlock formalizes the mutually beneficial relationship that has helped locals achieve jobs through hiring fairs cosponsored between the City and the Alliance, just one facet of the organization’s mission.

“This is an understanding of what we should expect from them in the future and what they can expect from us,” explained Turlock City Manager Roy Wasden. “We’re very comfortable with moving forward with the Alliance and there is no question of the value of the Business Alliance in things we’re striving for and the county is striving for.”

The Alliance is a private-public workforce development organization dedicated to assisting businesses and individuals in pursuit of jobs. Within the Alliance are several key components, including:  Corporate Relocation, Business Assistance, Small Business Development Center, Business Resource Center, Enterprise Zone Assistance, Education Foundation, and the Alliance Worknet.

In the past year the City of Turlock has worked extensively with the Alliance to promote local economic development through business retention surveys, employee meetings, as well as co-hosting job fairs and hiring events for Blue Diamond Almond Growers, Joann’s, Tilly’s, and Hilmar Cheese which itself attracted over 1,500 applicants.

“We are truly positioning the organization to provide value to our stakeholders and I think this memorandum of understanding really reflects that,” said Alliance representative Steven Ames at the Turlock City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Although the organization serves clients countywide, Ames assured the council that the Alliance’s services are catered to each community as the “the client drives the project.” While leads on projects are distributed countywide, the Alliance works with each city based on its needs.

 “This document reflects transparency, accountability, and communication and you really own this organization. So we’re here to benefit you, and work with you, and make sure that we’re responding to issues and concerns that our stakeholders are identifying,” said Ames.

Ames also stated that the Alliance completes surveys, such as the one completed with Turlock in recent months, in order to lead with data backed information to address issues in the various communities. With an “aggressive marketing campaign” slated to roll out in the new year as well as upcoming trade shows in the East Bay to showcase the Stanislaus region, both the City and the Alliance stand to benefit from potential investments to promote the region.