Sustainable Economic Development

As a Tallahassee resident for more than 20 years, I have witnessed the challenges our community continues to face in strengthening and diversifying our economy. Now, in the midst of an economic recession, it is more important than ever to focus on enhancing our business climate and making Tallahassee a more attractive place for entrepreneurs, corporate entities and talented professionals to locate.

I applaud the efforts of our local economic development council, as well as the Knight Creative Communities Institute for the steps they have taken to promote Tallahassee to outside industry, as well as the workforce. I believe the city should play an active role in supporting these endeavors by implementing the following initiatives:

1. Address our Energy Challenges: As corporations begin researching suitable geographic locations, they take a long, hard look at energy supply and utility rates within desirable regions. Unfortunately, the City of Tallahassee charges among the highest electric rates in the state, which quickly prompts new businesses to cross us off of their prospect list. To address this challenge, we must update our transmission line to enable us to purchase necessary power; establish a citizen’s utility board to review and analyze proposed rate increases; and identify sustainable energy sources to meet current and future needs.
2. Reverse Brain Drain: Every spring, Tallahassee experiences a serious depletion of talent, knowledge and creativity as thousands of college grads flock to other areas of the state and nation. We must work to showcase Tallahassee’s strengths to this coveted group and present them with local job opportunities. We can do this by forming partnerships among the business community, local and state government, the nonprofit community and our renowned universities to ensure we reach students before they decide to leave. Corporations considering whether to locate their business in our region want to know that we have a talented workforce available to them, as well as a place that their existing employees and their families will be happy to call home.
3. Streamline the Permitting Process: There are few things more frustrating than desiring to start or relocate a business only to be unnecessarily delayed by government bureaucracy and red tape. I propose streamlining the permitting process without compromising environmental standards to ensure entrepreneurs and existing business owners can begin stimulating our economy without inconvenient and pointless impediments.