Lowry for Albemarle

(At the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Airport, Thursday July 23. 2009)

Thank you all for coming today. As has been mentioned, this is the second in what is a series of monthly press/media meetings. Today, I’ll be talking about economic development issues.

We’re at the Airport today, because it represents on the of the accomplishments of which I’m most proud. In 1989, I was the chair of the Joint Airport Board, and the Airport Authority decided that the Airport needed to become the gateway to the community. By the time I left in 1992, this facility was transformed into a driver of economic growth for your community, helping many new business create new, high-paying jobs.

It is a model for responsible growth.

What sets me apart from the other candidates for the Samuel Miller Board of Supervisors Seat in the November election is my experience in economic development.

For eight years, I have been the chair of the Albemarle Economic Development Authority. Economic development in a time of uncertainty is a common theme of elections at National and State levels. As fortunate as we are to live in Albemarle County, we are long overdue to be looking for ways to have more activity here. More activity means more jobs and more business revenue to our county government.

Recently, Albemarle has had a stable contribution of approximately 13% of each year’s general budget revenue coming from businesses. Although stable at 13% this is also a fairly low number compared to other prosperous counties we count as peers. In Chesterfeild, they enjoy a 20% contribution from business revenue and in Henrico it is 28%.

How can we raise the business revenue portion in our mix? I believe that Albemarle County needs a real Economic Development Strategy. This is obvious to anyone who thinks the issue through.

Last year the Board of Supervisors voted to hire a consulting group to do a Resource Management Review. After months of research the study culminated in a presentation to the Board this past February 11th. During the day meeting, the consultant revealed the three most important ideas. One was for schools. One was for Information Technology. The third was a clear statement that Albemarle County needs an Economic Development Strategy.

That same day in the evening portion of the meeting, I stood in my role as Economic Development Chair to ask why does not the County have a Director of Economic Development? Why do we not have an Economic Development office?

We have no web listing, no staff listing in our County Directory for Economic Development, not even a telephone listing for an Economic Development Department.

My study of 24 City/County groups in Virginia revealed every one of them had a listing and a department - some nice web work, too. We are the ONLY one that does not.

Albemarle has a growth area delineated by bright lines. My comment is not a statement about our growth policy. What we need is a staff focusing on the growth of commerce were it is allowed.

I want to say one thing about the word “Growth”. It is a word that people fear. But the issue isn’t growth, it is responsible growth. We can grow our economy in the right way.

Already, Albemarle County is the home to the greenest grocery store on the East Coast. It is home to thousands of high-tech jobs. And think about it - how many gallons of gas, how many tons of carbon, has this Airport saved, by eliminating countless trips to Dulles and Richmond?

Ultimately, responsible Economic Development will result ion less dependence on rising property taxes. It is one of the best ways of moving the tax burden from homeowners, who see proposals to raise their property taxes every year. It is simply the right thing to do.

Our County administration has plenty of talented staff. Some staff can have multiple job tasks and I submit that the time is long overdue for the BOS to recognize responsible leadership. Recently staff offered the Board a list of what the consulting group recommended. Unfortunately, the Board of Supervisors has yet to take action. When I am elected, I will make this a priority.

Now is the time to take advantage of a natural opportunity. There are so many that think highly of us. Let’s let the most sought after business FITS come create jobs HERE, NOW.