City Manager: ‘I Have Every Confidence Best Buy Will Turn it Around’

. And , lay-off employees and —those predictions have caused even more speculation.

However, told Patch he has confidence in the company and didn’t foresee its financial struggles impacting the city’s continued collection of property taxes or upsetting the [TIF] revenue stream.

“The city is well protected,” Devich said. “Best Buy has always paid its property taxes on time, and if the building were to change hands, …  someone would still own it, [even if it went back to the bank]. When banks own things, the property taxes get paid and the TIF keeps coming in.”

“Speculating and asking questions about this is a prudent thing,” he added. “I just don’t want people to think that [the city is] sitting here thinking Best Buy is going under.”

Devich also believes Best Buy’s strategy to revamp many locations, like the Richfield store, will only make the company stronger.

“They’re investing a lot of money into the Richfield store to remodel it,” he said. “It’s a nice store, very visible and very profitable for them I would imagine. And they’re reinvesting in it [and the community].”

Devich said many companies are changing the way they operate since the economic downturn and Best Buy has reached that point.

“We have seen many companies that have fallen on difficult times in the past few years that have been able to turn it around,” he said. “I have every confidence that Best Buy will be able to do the same.”