Rural towns take economic driver's seat
Monday September 17, 2007
MARY PERREN
Correspondent for Metro Source
from: The Daily Herald in Columbia, TN
Tennessee's rural communities now have a comprehensive economic development tool kit to help them recruit and retain good paying jobs.
Gov. Phil Bredesen is the first to acknowledge that the state's unprecedented economic growth has been concentrated in and around Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
That's great for those communities, but unfortunately it doesn't do much to help the rural majority of the state.
Bredesen and state lawmakers are taking steps to address the problem and hopefully bridge the gap between the state's economic development haves and have-nots.
For starters, the state is now offering tiered Jobs Tax Credit enhancements for rural counties. The biggest breaks are going to the counties with the highest unemployment and per capita poverty rates in hopes of wooing industries to these areas.
The incentives are significant - up to 100 percent of the company's total state franchise and excise tax liability. That's a bit of a calculated risk, as robust business tax collections are the reason Tennessee is enjoying a record revenue surplus.
At the same time, that gamble could pay dividends for areas like the upper Cumberland Plateau and rural Tennessee River Valley for years to come, as jobs lead to stronger communities with healthier local tax bases.
Bredesen also announced the launch of the Tennessee Rural Opportunity Fund during the recent Governor's Conference on Economic and Community Development.
It's a new public-private venture capital partnership aimed at helping established small businesses in rural areas to grow and expand.
The state is partnering with the Tennessee Bankers Association and Southeast Community Capital, which is a not-for-profit Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans to small businesses lacking access to traditional financing.
The goal is to generate $10 million in investments from Tennessee banks, in exchange for franchise and excise tax credits. That seed money will be leveraged with funds allocated to the program by the legislature to set up a small business revolving loan fund.
Rural small business owners will be able to borrow money at favorable interest rates in order to grow and expand their operations. If the program is successful, it will likely serve as a national model for public-private economic development assistance.
In order for programs like these and other initiatives aimed at growing Tennessee's rural economy to be successful, communities have to buy into and take advantage of them.
That means identifying and focusing on what sets them apart from other sites in Tennessee and elsewhere and accentuating those positive attributes.
Of course looking at one's city with a critical eye is easier said than done. Fortunately, the state has a solution for that dilemma. It's called the "Orange Carpet Tour."
The idea is an adaptation of the "Red Carpet Tours" large cities hold for site selection consultants. They generally consist of a day or two of briefings and tours of sites capable for development.
The Orange Carpet Tours will give communities a chance to hit consultants with their best pitches in exchange for candid, written feedback from economic development professionals about the viability of what they've seen and heard.
Bredesen believes this will be a win-win proposition, as consultants will learn what rural Tennessee has to offer and community leaders will be able to better position themselves to take advantage of economic growth opportunities.
The governor also stresses the importance for communities to prepare and do their homework before hosting such a tour. That's a legitimate request, as it would be a shame to waste a consultant's time, and possibly make a bad impression and lose out job growth and expansion in the process.
The state has certainly taken steps to help boost the rural economy. Now it's up to local governments to do their part to attract and keep good paying jobs in their communities.
