JOHN F. FLOYD COMMENTARY: Economic development is No. 1 issue facing Gadsden
From now until the city election on Aug. 23, I will be highlighting issues of importance to the City of Gadsden and its voters.
The coming elections are the most important in Gadsden’s history. Voters must decide if the direction of city government is proper and appropriate; progressive, stagnant or regressive.
I think Gadsden is stagnant, and is getting close to falling into the abyss of regression. The No. 1 factor in this swoon is economic development. I think economic development has been non-existent in the six years since I returned to my hometown, with the exception of a couple of new restaurants. It's not a pretty picture.
The present Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority was created in 1984 by elected city officials and Chamber of Commerce business executives. According to linkedin.com, the IDA is an independent, private, nonprofit organization, organized under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is directed by a self-perpetuating volunteer board of directors and managed by a full-time staff.
The IDA board of directors is in charge of an operation that plays a significant role in the city, and periodically reports to the City Council, but ultimately is responsible to no one. Consequently, I think it is an albatross around the city's neck, and the new mayor and council must find a way to change that.
The IDA has a board made up of outstanding individuals in the local community. The authority has an executive committee made up of four individuals: chairman, finance director, secretary and an at large position. These four individuals should be the director’s primary source of guidance and direction.
With the shroud of secrecy that permeates the IDA, the voters of Gadsden can only guess what transpired behind closed doors during the recent Pilgrim's Pride rendering plant fiasco, as despite the arguments from concerned residents of Gadsden and surrounding communities, evidence of potential contamination of the environment, danger to pilots using the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport and evidence of putrid odors emanating from other animal parts rendering plants, the authority continued to push the Pilgrim’s Pride operation.
Mayoral candidates should ask this question: “The board of directors for the IDA obviously does a yearly performance appraisal for the authority's director. If so, what are the results?” Surely the residents of Gadsden who fund the IDA deserve to know that, whether the results are positive or negative.
And even though the authority hides behind the designation of a “private company not subject to the Open Meetings Act,” I believe an organization that is supported by taxpayer dollars should have a financial reporting obligation to its constituents.
The IDA gets funding from annual service contracts with the City of Gadsden and on occasion from other local governments, but its primary funding ultimately comes from Gadsden’s taxpayers.
The successful mayoral candidate must have a solution for the lack of economic development plaguing the city. The IDA, as presently structured, is a dilemma. Changes must be made to turn it into a dynamic, countywide economic development organization.
First, eliminate the present City of Gadsden economic development position. The IDA director should be a direct report to the mayor and the county's chief administrative officer. The way the IDA is presently structured, the primary source for economic development in Gadsden and Etowah County has no obligation to government.
The next step is to have all economic directors from various communities in Etowah County report to the IDA director. We are a small county and should be treated as a single economic development consortium.
Next, don’t fill the Etowah County economic director’s job previously held by Marilyn Lott. The IDA should assume those duties. This reorganization would focus economic development on all of Etowah County and create a much more formidable organization.
The previous comments are only suggestions for beginning a process to cure the present malaise that surrounds economic development in Gadsden. It’s a subject that should be on the mind of every voter in the city.
Listen very carefully to the ideas of mayoral candidates concerning the path forward and vote accordingly, because economic development is the single most important issue for Gadsden and its residents in this election.
John F. Floyd is a Gadsden native who graduated from Gadsden High School in 1954. He formerly was director of United Kingdom manufacturing, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., vice president of manufacturing and international operations, General Tire & Rubber Co., and director of manufacturing, Chrysler Corp. He can be reached at johnfloyd538@gmail.com. The opinions reflected are his own.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: John F. Floyd discusses need for economic development
