by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
After weeks of speakers from the outside, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. study committee members turned their attention Wednesday to some inside work.
The group started reviewing 35 pages of findings from the presentations made during the “Recession Recovery and Beyond” study meetings, which began in October.
Members initially visited the seven counties involved in the study. Then they met weekly to hear from executives in economic development, education, government, banking, manufacturing, the port and other industries and areas that deal with job creation.
On Wednesday, about 30 members spent about 90 minutes to review the first 10 pages of the findings line by line, making suggestions about the wording, concepts and organization of the presentation.
The group will meet twice more to review the findings before drawing
conclusions and making recommendations. The meetings are scheduled to conclude in May, after which the study will be presented to the public.
In the wake of the December 2007-June 2009 national recession, JCCI set out 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 counties in the region are Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.
The draft findings cover the area’s job creation strategies, including attracting, creating and retaining businesses and employment.
“Northeast Florida, like many regions in countries around the world, has entered a new era of austerity,” said the draft findings.
“Market and public policy uncertainty have fueled the reluctance of big businesses to hire workers and make capital expenditures, while capital for existing and startup small businesses is extremely limited,” it said.
“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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