$48,000 a bargain if economic plan a success
As I read Duane Sherrill’s Wednesday “Taking A Stand” column, I couldn’t help but think he’s got some great ideas.
Wouldn’t it be great if the city and county would work together and appoint a group of businesspeople whose primary purpose would be to develop new good-paying jobs for our community. While we’re dreaming, what if the Chamber of Commerce, state and federal government, local utilities and even local banks agreed to help this group in its lofty goal of securing more jobs for the citizens of McMinnville and Warren County.
The city and county could, as Duane suggested, give this group the authority to negotiate on their behalf with new or expanding industries. They could reduce property taxes, offer financial incentives, manage city and county industrial properties, hire staff — all dedicated toward the goal of more and better jobs. This “task force” could combine the considerable resources of all the above groups and develop a strategic plan, a road map, a new plan of action.
For the past two years, I have been privileged to work with a group very similar to this. It’s called the McMinnville-Warren County Industrial Development Board.
This group is made up of 10 local businesspeople who work without pay because they realize the need for more good jobs. In addition to the volunteers we employ 1-1/4 employees to help us in our goals.
We agree with Duane that we can’t continue to “do the same old things.” We have hired an experienced and proven firm, Policom, to help “reconstruct the way we go after business.”
Over the next few months they have agreed to help us develop a new approach to industrial development in our city and county. They will help us identify target industries that are growing, offering high-paying jobs, and succeeding in areas similar to Warren County. They will develop new incentives, help us set new aggressive goals, and even offer suggestions on how to pay for them.
If their plan for us works as well as it has in other communities, $48,000 is a bargain.
I believe our county is at a crossroads. We can all work together and get serious about economic development, or we can sit back and watch our community become a wide spot in the highway between Cookeville and Manchester. I for one believe this community will pull together and that our most prosperous times lay in our future.
Mark Brown
Fairgrounds Road
McMinnville