To help prevent a collapse, Alderman Ross Arnett, D-Ward 8, has added two positions for the department in his budget amendments. Now the Department of Economic Affairs is "in limbo" until the city's budget is passed later this month, admitted Mike Miron, who is working part time as its director.

Even Mayor Ellen O. Moyer admitted to being a bit concerned with the department and it being short-staffed.

"It's an essential department in a city that's facing more and more challenges economically," Ms. Moyer said. "So there needs to be a key person to continue to monitor the projects and keep them moving. We need all the support we can get."

As a result, Ms. Moyer has asked Don Lamb-Minor, a local business consultant who often works with the city's department heads, to help run the department while Mr. Miron is on leave for about a month.

"Most of my work with Mike's department was to ensure that if anything came up, we have the opportunity to work through it," Mr. Lamb-Minor said.

Adding to the department's troubles, the employee filling economic development's part-time marketing post stepped down last week and now Mr. Miron said he is pushing for the position to become full time to help with growing marketing needs.

Mr. Arnett said his man concern is the department having "zero staff."

He believes there is a great need for a Department of Economic Affairs to provide analysis on the economic impact of adequate public facilities and implement such initiatives as the Main Street program and the proposal for a cultural arts district.

Discussed last summer, Mr. Miron said he wanted to apply to the Main Street Maryland program, a downtown revitalization project that focuses on historic preservation and economic development.

"This city has got to be run on a business base," Mr. Arnett said. "It is no longer a sleepy southern town."

In his proposed budget amendments, Mr. Arnett added a financial analyst and an economist to the department to give the city more of a feel for the impact of large-scale projects like the arts and entertainment district.

"What will end up in (the budget), I don't know," Ms. Moyer said. "But I think the advocates for adding a position for better fiscal analysis is valid. We will have to do more marketing, so a full-time marketing person could be used."

Mr. Miron said he's also seeking to put together an economic development exchange program with Annapolis' sister cities from around the world, including Wexford, Ireland and Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia.

"We want to develop that kind of support service to the City Council and the mayor's office," Mr. Miron said. "If we have the staffing and the software to do it, we'll do it. If we don't get the staffing, I'll have to do it."

But the focus will be on the city's upcoming Main Street program, which Mr. Miron said he would like to kick off next year, which includes setting up a charitable foundation to collect grants for economic programs.

"We're going to do a lot of preliminary work this year," Mr. Miron said. "We'll get it done whether we have the staff or not."