by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
In what’s being described as a “timely” course of action, City Council members Art Graham and Sharon Copeland are exploring current Jacksonville Economic Development Commission policies.
Serving as a possible complement, but working independently from Mayor John Peyton’s similar revision efforts, Copeland and Graham will meet with JEDC representatives and local consultants, including Jim Catlett and Bruce Barcelo over the next few weeks, to find out what’s working and, more importantly, what isn’t.
“To be honest, (Graham) and I are interested in seeing how our incentives are working across the board,” said Copeland of the review process impetus. “I can say right now that we’re having some concern over whether or not the JEDC is looking at a broad enough picture.
“The timing is perfect.”
Both agreed with Peyton’s stance of job growth being a major factor before dolling out incentives, but added the location of potential businesses may need to undergo more scrutiny.
“For instance, we don’t incentivise businesses on the Southside because there’s been an understanding that they shouldn’t need any extra encouragement over there right now,” she said. “Are we even looking at the economic impact they’re bringing to the area; because we should be.”
Copeland added areas typically receiving more incentives, including parts of the Westside and Northside, should be certain to attract businesses parallel to the local level of skill and education.
“From what I’ve observed, there doesn’t seem to be very much consistency right now,” she said. “We’re encouraging businesses to relocate here and we put them in communities where the people who live in the area aren’t really seeing many of the benefits.
“Sure, the companies may bring jobs, but we’re talking about jobs with mean salaries up in the $60s and $70s. We’re leaving out the blue collar workers.”
Copeland and Graham said it made little sense to encourage a business to relocate to Jacksonville when it can potentially drive existing entrepreneurs in the area out of business.
“It’s just a little confusing to think about how we’re supposed to justify using a taxpayer’s dollars so we can relocate their competition, a non-taxpayer, down the street,” said Copeland.
In addition to reviewing local policies, Copeland said she and Graham will likely examine the practices of other communities across the country.
“We want to attract businesses, want to help them as much as we can,” she said. “But we also want to be certain our system works. That’s why we plan to talk to a lot of people who understand that reality so we can see if it does.”