From the Richmond Palladium-Item:
...
The departure of Tim Rogers provides us with an opportunity to rethink this model. The EDC has the capacity to transform itself from an agent of corporate welfare into a catalyst for change. It can begin to foster a culture of genuinely consistent and uniform support for economic vitality by taking the following steps:
» First, seriously consider scaling back the size of the EDC and the EDIT necessary to support it. Any successes agencies achieve must be balanced against the drain they represent on the overall economic health of the area and the damaging culture created by granting special treatment to some business ventures and not others.
» Second, the EDC should become advocates of all business growth and entrepreneurship rather than focusing on targeted investments. This means encouraging state and local governments to streamline services, reduce overhead, and consider contracting out or privatizing where appropriate.
» Third, the EDC should follow these efforts up with proposals to lower the tax burden of Wayne County residents and businesses across the board. Dollars taken out of the hands of private citizens are dollars that are removed from the hands of those who create economic wealth and are in the best position to determine where and how resources should be allocated to maximize growth and prosperity in the region.
» Finally, it is time for the experiment with the EDC and the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce to end. This ill-conceived hybrid reeks of cronyism in a field that already raises too many questions about special treatment to favored industries.
The Wayne County Economic Development Corporation should view these moves as central to its mission and as part of an overall effort to create a local enterprise zone, and local citizens should drive this transition.
Wayne County is not unlike many areas that sit on the brink of an important decision about how they will compete not only with its regional neighbors but also in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. We will not succeed if we continue to pursue the same broken model we have for so long. Now is the time to shift gears, to change the perception of local government, and to create an environment where investment is welcomed from within and without.
http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012205200314
