If Not Annexation, Then What?

A comment was made on a recent post challenging those of us who oppose annexation to offer some alternatives. So I thought I'd outline some of the behind the scenes ideas that have been offered for several years now. All the following go beyond the obvious steps of cutting services and raising taxes. They offer legitimate steps that many other communities have successfully employed to build a diversified economic system.

1. Ruston's former economic development committee was disbanded by the new political majority in 2007. It is well past time to put our political differences aside and form a new committee that can advise the council and mayor, offering suggestions and ideas on how to improve Ruston's economic base. The research and consensus that can be achieved by these volunteers will help lay out a roadmap when we can't afford professional consultants. The former committee presented several alternatives for how to structure such a committee that are available immediately.
   
2. The Main Street model for economic development should be explored for Ruston. This approach that focuses on mixed use centers and strong business cores has worked well in Tacoma. There are steps Ruston can take to encourage commercial development in the best locations via tax reductions or zoning.
   
3. Economic gardening is an alternative focus to traditional economic development that offers support to "grow" local businesses with tools like market or customer research, networking for venture cash with start up businesses, seminars on business management or writing business plans and other means to support existing businesses. An economic committee could undertake some of these tasks ~ if nothing else to let our retail and in-home businesses know they are noticed and welcomed.
   
4. We need to come together to develop a strategic plan. It will take time and effort, but building consensus around the things we value most and a shared vision for our future will sustain and improve our quality of life. Steps as simple as a mission statement and specific goals will help us set priorities and become more efficient with our limited resources. Financial planning should be a part of this exercise; projecting revenue sources, amounts and dates as part of those goals. A joint venture lead by the economic committee and planning commission to gather public input, organize the information and specify changes needed to the various planning documents is one possible approach.
5. One radical idea is eliminate the B&O tax. With new retail on the horizon in the Point Ruston development, this would give added incentive to fill in that space quickly. Many local communities have dropped this regressive tax and seen business growth as a result. The details warrant exploration. It is possible that increases in sales or property tax could make up for the $6,000 or Ruston got in B&O taxes in 2008, especially if it means we are more attractive to new businesses compared to neighboring Tacoma.
   
6. I sent forwarded this email to a few council members recently: "As you might know, I subscribe to a list-serve for an economic development approach called "economic gardening" - where the ED emphasis is on growing existing businesses rather than recruiting outside ones.
   I've always hoped Ruston could incorporate some of these principles even in our small town. One idea I've had bouncing around for a long time would be to encourage a business incubator to locate here (like this email suggests) - it would give us something to fill in an empty space and the potential for more businesses (hopefully some of the successful start ups stay in Ruston).
   Another recent idea is to encourage artists to locate here - not much tax base at first but if we can create the synergy of housing many artists and becoming a destination for art lovers, we build a positive "brand" and hopefully build a stronger tax base... Karen
   

   Are business incubators a safe haven?
   
   With companies like Microsoft laying off thousands, the technology
   sector is again looking treacherous.  But could this be a good time
   for highly-skilled workers to found their own businesses?
   
   Nick Sturge, director of the Business Acceleration Centre in Bristol,
   UK, thinks so. His office attracted a bit of press attention with a
   recent release noting that starting a business with the resources of a
   business incubator is less risky than “staying where you are and
   waiting for the axe to fall.”
   
   Full article here:
   http://www.sciencebusiness.com/wordpress/2009/01/23/are-business-incubators-a-safe-haven/

These are just some ideas off the top of my head. But the best plans are made when lots of people get together and brainstorm. I am convinced that our collective vision and energy would yield positive steps we can take to build a sustainable future. I hope the council majority will invest their energy on bringing us together to focus on ways to survive. We've made it through some very, very lean years before, we can do it again. The grass in not greener on the other side of Pearl Street...

Karen