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Municipal
Government Must Do A Better Good Job Of Economic Development
by
Robert Kirwan
Publisher
Valley East Today |
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BUSINESS RETENTION AND
EXPANSION PROGRAM IDENTIFIES WIDE SPREAD DISSATISFACTION AMONG LOCAL
BUSINESS LEADERS |
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The
Business Retention and Expansion Program was launched in February 2005
“to stimulate economic development and growth by assisting existing
businesses.”
Partners in the program include the city, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of
Commerce and the
Sudbury
and Manitoulin Workforce Partnerships Board, with funding from the
provincial and federal governments.
The first phase of the
Sudbury
program was to complete a comprehensive survey of local businesses.
The results could hardly be called "astonishing" in light of
information that has been floating around the Greater Sudbury Region for
years.
After
conducting a survey of 126 businesses, the Chair of the Greater Sudbury
Business Retention and Expansion Program, Jeanne Warwick, stated that the
two major impediments to business development in this area are a skilled
labour shortage and municipal government.
Nearly
60 per cent of survey respondents identified a shortage of qualified
workers as one of the major “barriers to the expansion of existing
businesses and the development of new businesses in the community,” the
51 page report states. Based upon the above two survey sources, it would
be interesting to determine exactly "where" businesses are
experiencing the shortages.
Next on the list was a series of concerns with local government attitudes,
services, costs and regulations.
“The municipal government was rated as not supportive, poor on taxes,
development charges and the permit process,” the report says.
“Dissatisfaction levels ran high with street repair (80 per cent) and
the planning, engineering, zoning and building permit process (48 per
cent),” it states.
POOR
RECORD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
It
is quite disturbing to note that, “71 per cent of the businesses
interviewed felt that the municipality does not take an adequate role in
business and economic development.”
At
a gathering of business leaders where the report was unveiled, Mayor Dave
Courtemanche said city council and staff will be working co-operatively
with business leaders to address such concerns. He and council are
committed to creating a climate in which “new businesses feel welcome
and existing businesses feel appreciated,” Courtemanche told the
gathering at city hall.
“It’s really existing businesses that are the future of our
community,” said the mayor, who has been involved in the business
retention initiative and has served as the program’s honourary chair.
Warwick
said she is confident the local business community can work with the city
to address the concerns that have been identified. “Mayor Dave is
willing to work with us and unearth what the problems really are,” she
said.
The next step in the process will include additional research and
development of action plans to address priority issues, she added. |
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| HOW MANY CHANCES DO YOU NEED TO GET IT
RIGHT? |
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| In a small survey taken among residents of Valley East,
there was a feeling of disenchantment with the general reaction to the
report.
According to one long-time business owner, "The report didn't tell
us anything new. We've been saying for the past five years that local
government was leaving us high and dry when it came to economic
development. The Mayor may say that he feels existing businesses are the
future of the community, but all Council seems to care about is the
downtown and bringing in box store after box store. Those box stores take
profits out of the community. Our small independent stores keep the profit
in this community and reinvest it."
"Additional research and action plans are not the answer,"
stated another businessman. "All these people are doing is trying to
get more provincial and federal grants to keep themselves busy writing
reports. What we need is a 'take-charge' type of Mayor who is going to
make things happen. Talk is cheap. It's time to do something." |
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| VALLEY EAST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE |
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| Several people we spoke to indicated that at least when we
had our own Valley East Economic Development Committee we knew that there
were people who cared about what happened in Valley East. Some favoured
the establishment of another such committee.
Yet others echoed the sentiment of Vicki Smith, chair of the
Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, who feels that local business should
accept a more active role in economic development.
This is an issue that must be addressed during the current election
campaign. If local government is not going to be able to handle the
challenge of stimulating economic development, then it should "free
the reigns" from the private sector and tell the businesses to do it
alone. At least then someone will be taking responsibility and not just
assuming that the job is getting done only to find out that no progress
has been made in the past five years. |
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| IT'S ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION |
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| In conclusion, we know that the municipal leaders can put
together a long list of accomplishments and advances that have been made
in the local economy during the past five years. However, when 71% of 126
business leaders state that they do not feel the local government is not
taking an adequate role in business and economic development, there is a
problem. And it is a problem that must be addressed.
As a footnote, while more than 95% of the people surveyed identified
the quality of life in Greater Sudbury as a major asset to the city, 53%
stated that the current image of Greater Sudbury was also considered to be
holding back the economic development of the region. Therefore, whatever
the local government has been doing to try to improve the image, it has
not been getting through to the local businesses who responded to the
survey.
Further disturbing news was that only 50% of the firms surveyed
indicated that they were looking to expand or sustain their current base
of operations. This means that almost 50% of our businesses are
considering other options such as downsizing, closing or relocating. Not
good news for people looking for employment.
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