The Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission voted Wednesday to commit an additional $200,000 of its reserve funding to implementation of Phase I of a communications plan to improve the image of Albany developed by Atlanta-based Lattimer Communications.

That company’s principle, Sarah Lattimer, and members of her staff offered a detailed overview of the “community perception” plan that they have developed since being hired by the EDC in July of 2013 at a cost of $150,150.

“We allocated $200,000 in funding to hire Lattimer, and $150,000 of that money has gone to the agency,” interim EDC President Justin Strickland explained before the board voted to approve the additional funding. “That leaves us with $50,000 to implement a plan that has a $269,000 budget. If we approve the additional $200,000 in funding, that will allow us to move forward with Phase I of the plan and to possibly start looking at Phase II.”

Phase II of Lattimer’s plan includes shifting a positive perception of Albany and Dougherty County beyond Southwest Georgia to include central Georgia as well.

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