Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

Chamber Confidential

www.metrochamber.com
 November 9, 2006

Volume 1, Number 3 
Department Updates

Upcoming events and Membership news, click here.

ChamberPlus, Inc. news, click here.

Governmental Relations news, click here.

Economic Development news, click here.

Community Development news, click here.

Leadership Jackson news, click here.

Updated list of new members, click here.

New Photo Gallery Pictures, click here.

 

 

Memo from the President                       Duane O'Neill

The Election is Over- It’s Time For Reconciliation

Interestingly the national news this past week has centered on President Bush reaching out to Democrats to bring this country together.  It seems obvious that such action would be good for everyone.  Will it happen? Only time will tell.  While our Congressional leaders like Senator Cochran, Senator Lott, Representative Pickering and Representative Thompson will have an impact on this national question, we MetroJackson citizens will have little to contribute.  However, that is NOT the case with our local fence mending.

The Capital City Convention Center was a vote within the City of Jackson, but it touches our entire metro community.  The bottom line is that voters easily exceeded the 60% approval necessary.  Now the project looks to be a major component of the economic revitalization of the Capital City.  However, not everyone was excited with the results.

A certain number of the hospitality community opposed the Center.  The reasons for the opposition varied; however, two viewpoints were most prevalent. First was the issue of whether this was the “best” project on which to use our resources.  That question was answered by the vote and is now inconsequential. The Convention Center is a reality and is where we are using the resources.

It is the “other” question that needs to be addressed so that the record is set straight and we can move forward together.  The success of this referendum was due to a broad coalition of people and organizations.  It was NOT a referendum on Mayor Johnson, though he played a key role.  It was NOT a City Council initiative, though they played a key role.  It was not an exclusive Chamber project, though we played a key role.  The fact is we could go on and on naming key parties that contributed, including the Hinds County legislative delegation, but the point is that everyone together made it happen-not one person or one entity.

Ironically, while the coalition getting us to this point was large, the effort requires an even broader partnership as we move forward.  That is because the legislature, in its wisdom, made sure everyone was represented on the governing commission for the facility.  This governing commission with full control over the facility will be comprised of nine members selected as follows:

*Two hotel/motel members submitted by the Central MS Chapter of MS Lodging Association

*Two restaurant members submitted by the Jackson Restaurant Association

*Two business community members submitted by the MetroJackson  Chamber

*Two At-Large members selected by the Mayor of Jackson

*One At-Large member selected by the Governor

Thus, four of the appointees come from associations not in favor of the referendum.  Two more come from the Chamber and one from the Governor, with ONLY two members directly chosen by the Mayor.  The future success of this opportunity is not in the hands of the Mayor, nor the City Council.  It is going to be incumbent on every sector to rally around the Convention Center for it to be successful. 

In this case, even though the election is over, all parties involved have a voice and a responsibility to work together to move our community forward.

Governmental Relations Update 

Workforce Development:

The MetroJackson Chamber began getting involved in workforce development about five years ago. One of the first things our staff realized was that accessing the state’s workforce development system was like trying to find your way through a giant maze. There was no formal connection between the numerous agencies involved with workforce development.

The difficulty for employers and people looking for jobs and trying to navigate the state’s system became more and more evident. This issue was noted during the chamber’s three Workforce Academy programs in 2002 and again during the chamber hosted event, “The State of Employment and Workforce Development in Central Mississippi” during 2003.

All of the concerns identified with these “navigation” issues were forwarded to area legislators and to Governor-Elect Haley Barbour as he prepared his legislative agenda for 2006. The input to Governor-Elect Barbour from the chamber and other business groups was the same---simplify accessing the workforce development system. He responded with drafting the necessary legislation. The legislature agreed with the Governor and passed “The Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Development and Education Consolidation Act of 2006.”

Now that the workforce delivery system has been simplified, the business community is being encouraged to take greater advantage of the improved system to help with their hiring and training needs. Tax credits are available for certain types of training.  To help businesses access the various services, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security has created a Business Outreach Services Division to market the various employment / training related services to employers. The number to call is 601-321-6000. However, employers may still go directly to their local community colleges for assistance with workforce development and training concerns.  

Legislative Matters:

No article on Governmental Relations would be complete without mentioning the passage of two pieces of state legislation in 2006that have and will continue to improve the state’s business climate. These two issues are Tort Reform and “The Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Development and Education Consolidation Act of 2006.” The benefits of tort reform have already been widely discussed and no effort will be made to repeat that in this article. Remarks on workforce development appear later in this article.    

Preparing for the 2005 Legislative Session:

On October 11 the chamber began its first step in preparing for the 2005 legislative session by hosting a legislative planning session organized by the chamber’s Local and State Government Committee. Other groups invited to participate were: (1) legislators representing the three county metro area, chambers in the metro area, mayors and supervisor representatives serving on the chamber board, and members of the chamber’s Governmental Relations Division.

The objective of this effort is to identify legislative issues that all or most chambers in the metro area will support. This process of working together to develop a common “Metro Legislative Agenda” began about six years ago to address those common issues vital to the future of the metro area. The agenda is normally limited between four to five issues per year. The preliminary issues identified on October 11 were:

·        Tort reform (keep what we have)

·        Home rule for cities and counties.

·        More tourism promotion.

·        Authorize use of tolls roads.

·        New incentives to encourage downtown residential development.

·        New incentives to encourage expansion and rehabilitation of downtown commercial and residential structures.

·        Business incubator expansions.

·        MOST (Legislators suggested we keep on our agenda but

 not push in 2005).

During this meeting, legislators repeatedly told us that this will be a very stressful session because funding demands are much higher than anticipated revenues. At the same time, various groups throughout the state are advocating no new taxes. Governor Barbour, in repeated speeches, is maintaining his election platform of “no tax increases.” In spite of the advocacy of some groups for “no new taxes,” other groups are saying that opposition to new taxes is opposition to general tax increases to not enable legislation that will allow cities and counties to conduct referendums on levying a local sales tax to pay for critical infrastructure needs.    

These issues will be considered by the participating metro area chambers during the month of November. MetroJackson Chamber members wishing to comment on these or other potential issues are encouraged to contact Lewis Slater at lslater@metrochamber.com or call him at 948-7575 by November 15.