These are difficult times to be discussing economic development, as has been acknowledged in this space before.
Businesses are about the business of battening down hatches these day to keep the rising waters of recession from flowing in. Many are forced by circumstances to focus on survival rather than expanding or relocating.
But some things are constant. Communities that keep costs low for business have an edge over communities that do not.
The concept seems simple enough but not all get it. That’s why talk of government investment prevails these days, carrying us into just the sort of argument that River City 2020 has aimed to avoid, one over the role of government in the economy.
My position is as it long has been that government—especially local government—does have a part to play in de-veloping local economies. But this does not necessitate government spending. In fact, the current environment, I contend, precludes that approach. This is particularly true in a town like Waynesboro, where Invista and others are laying off workers. These are difficult times for the people who pay government’s bills.
What the downturn does not preclude is government officials doing all within their power to create an environment that eases as much as possible the burden on business and open the way for others to come, perhaps businesses looking for a place that minimizes overhead at a time when costs are an even larger concern than usual.
That’s why Forbes magazine uses what it calls “low cost of doing business” as one of its key criteria in forming its “Best Places for Business and Careers” list.
Waynesboro offers benefits in this regard with property and machine tax rates that compare favorably to most cities in the state as well as the rest of the country. Waynesboro has not done such a good job of selling this point.
Further, Waynesboro could do itself good by advancing just the kind of tax incentives package that helped transform the West End from fields to retail mecca. In addition to that retail base, the city needs the kind of economic driver that companies like DuPont and Invista once provided.
A program of tax breaks to pull in businesses—perhaps high-technology companies like those River City 2020 member and Augusta Free Press Editor Chris Graham has talked about—could fill the void.
Maintaining a low tax rate and crafting sensible, pragmatic programs that can help businesses slash costs could provide the city a partial formula for success. But the city then will need to sell to decision makers these points as well as Waynesboro’s excellent location and quality of life. Otherwise, officials will be left hoping somebody hears about all the town has to offer. Keeping costs such as taxes down also might encourage existing businesses to expand, or it may simply help them survive. In either case, both the businesses and Waynesboro win.
This approach is one on which people of all political stripes can agree. We’ll leave the arguments about precisely how far government ought to go in the use of taxpayer money to the editorial pages of this newspaper and online media. My hope is that River City 2020 can stay free of such entanglements and focus attention on points on which all of us can unify. Selling this city as a great place to live and work, I believe, fits that description nicely.