Arkansas Weekly

Over the next four articles, I am going to outline what I believe economic development will look like going forward, and how this relates to the vote on December 9 for an economic development tax. I want to do this so that the readers of this article will hopefully better understand what I do here at the Chamber, and what I envision we will be able to do with this tax. As it goes with any vote that increases a tax and goes to a governmental agency, there are automatic questions that arise, and justifiably so. I believe that as citizens we should question our government in ways that we don't always agree. That is our right as American citizens and anything other than that would be disappointing to me.

Economic development is as broad as it is wide. It is an all encompassing phrase that at times can be hard to understand. It's a phrase that a person can twist to fit to what they think it should be, or for what they think it should be. As a rule for my position and what I do here, economic development is an effort I undertake to either retain, enhance, or create jobs for the people of Independence County. If what I do fulfills any of those three criteria, I believe I am doing my job. As with any job, that I have or that you have, you need tools to do your job. I have talked previously about incentives, and the need for them in our competitive day and time. I won't talk too much about that in this space here, but I will say they are an important part of what I do. More importantly, and what comes before incentives are ever offered, we need to make sure that those outside of Arkansas are aware of our community, that we exist, and what the characteristics of our community are. The core characteristics of our community will make us competitive almost immediately once they are brought out in the open and shown to site consultants, and others who could be interested. But there is a literal cost in producing those materials, to create those materials and to distribute them. We will have to market ourselves to the outside community so they know we exist, and that we can deliver what they are looking for.

I will also advocate for a trusted and experienced group to come in and help us formulate a long term strategy to recruit companies to our area. I have an idea of quality types of industry to recruit to our area. But, I would be doing a disservice to you, the taxpayer, if I spent time and your money on things that would end up not being a good fit for us, or that we don't have the resources to attract. We have to know what we can attract, what is a good fit for us, and for what we need to plan. In 1986, Jonesboro did just this exact thing. They recruited a firm who told them the industry they could attract, and what they needed to do to ensure such industry recruitment would be successful. I will advocate we do the same so we don't waste one taxpayer dime on efforts that do not provide a solid return on their sacrifice.

Economic development is also helping companies around the county as they work to increase their workforce, or make improvements that will aid in them remaining competitive and, as a result, staying in business. Since the Emerson/Copeland announcement, I have had several calls from businesses about monies available to help them in their expansions. I have told them about this effort, and they are in support of it as well and understand how it can help them. The board that will work with the economic developer will make the suggestions to the quorum court about projects just like this, and we will be actively seeking out companies to help, to decide into which we should invest your dollars, to help them create new jobs, to help them keep jobs here, or to help them in other ways.

Economic development is also about looking to the future while dealing with current issues. It would be a disservice to the taxpayers if these leaders did not look to the future and think of potential future needs. These funds can be used to issue bonds for purposes related to economic development, and these can include new road infrastructure, an industrial park, or other community improvements to make this area competitive long term. This is a key part of what it will take to be competitive, and to enhance our community for the good of the taxpayers. All of these things will be done with transparency and reporting to the public. Any taxpayer of Independence County will be able to view records about our efforts, minutes of meetings, and have an understanding of what is going on with their money.

It's important to understand what economic development is, what it does, and I hope in today's article I have outlined the key areas of this proposal. Please contact me if you have questions about this or any other article on this subject.