by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
A civic group has wrestled three dozen pages of information gathered over five months of presentations into 11 conclusions about the area’s economic future.
Summing up one of the findings was study planner Mickee Brown: “We are not struggling alone.”
The group debated and analyzed the rough draft of the conclusions of the “Recession Recovery and Beyond” study for 90 minutes Wednesday.
Many of the conclusions apply to regions around the country, members decided.
Brown will edit the document to reflect the Wednesday suggestions and the group will start to develop its recommendations next week. The final report is expected to be released to the public in June.
After that, an implementation committee will take the recommendations to the appropriate community decisionmakers.
The study is chaired by former City Council President Elaine Brown, who is president of the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
Here is a brief summary of the 11 conclusions, which are still being edited:
• Jacksonville/Duval County is the economic driver for job creation in the seven counties of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.
• The region’s economic recovery will require a consistent vision by leaders.
• Northeast Florida needs to improve its competitive advantage based on the educational attainment of its work force.
• Deepening the Jacksonville channel at the Jacksonville Port Authority operations is critical for the region’s capacity as a logistics and manufacturing hub.
• The region must continue to leverage its military presence to attract defense contractors.
• Northeast Florida is well-positioned to continue benefiting from the growing medical complex in the area and medical tourism.
• Efforts to create high-paying jobs will struggle without public and private investments as well as a highly qualified work force.
• The region has numerous small-business development and support agencies but lacks specific strategies and financial resources to help attract entrepreneurs and leverage resources to help small businesses expand.
• In a region of 27 municipalities, there are cumbersome rules and regulations affecting business expansion and growth.
• The growth of local businesses is hampered by a lack of access to capital. Financial institutions are reluctant to lend money because of financial uncertainty and more stringent lending requirements.
• Neither Northeast Florida nor many of its individual counties have a recognizable brand identity.
In March, after months of listening to speakers from the outside, the group started reviewing 35 pages of findings from the presentations.
The study began in October. Members initially visited the seven counties involved in the study.
Then they met weekly at the Northeast Florida Regional Council in Southside to hear from executives in economic development, education, government, banking, manufacturing, the port and other industries and areas that deal with job creation.
The group then reviewed the findings line by line, making suggestions about the wording, concepts and organization of the presentation.
In the wake of the December 2007-June 2009 national recession, JCCI was charged with attempting to discover how the seven counties of Northeast Florida might retain existing jobs, rapidly create new jobs and position the region for long-term economic growth.
The study is sponsored by WorkSource and the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership.
“Northeast Florida, like many regions in countries around the world, has entered a new era of austerity,” said the draft findings.
The findings said that uncertain market conditions and public policy fueled the reluctance of big businesses to hire workers and make capital expenditures, while capital for existing and startup small businesses is extremely limited.
“Both of these realities limit private investment. Likewise local governments are faced with falling tax revenues due to depreciated property values, which limits public investment,” it continued.
“The result is stalled economic growth, which threatens the region’s quality of life and future long-term economic competitiveness.”
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