Arkansas Needs the Tools to Compete

Editor’s note: The following is guest commentary submitted to Arkansas Breaking News. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arkansas Breaking News.

By Cole McCaskill
Interim President & CEO, Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and Hot Springs Metro Partnership

Economic development is not about standing still. It is about looking at what your community has, identifying where you want to go, and finding ways to get there.

I have spent much of my career working to help Hot Springs and Garland County do exactly that. We have worked to attract new businesses, help existing businesses grow, revitalize downtown, develop our workforce and diversify our economy.

And through that work, I have learned an important lesson: having a good community is not always enough. You also need the tools to compete.

Today, Arkansas communities are competing for jobs and investment against communities in 49 other states.

When a company considers where to expand or locate, it looks at everything. Workforce. Infrastructure. Transportation. Quality of life. Available sites. And, increasingly, what a community can do to help make a project possible.

That puts Arkansas communities in a difficult position when our competitors have economic-development tools that we do not. All too often, when talking with business prospects from out of state, the conversation stops when they learn we don’t have local incentives to offer. Businesses are used to receiving tax breaks for significant investment and development, and all of our neighboring states happily accommodate that. Investment goes where it gets its best return.

We should not expect Arkansas communities to compete with one arm tied behind their back.

Arkansans understand the importance of adapting to changing economic conditions. Our communities have reinvented themselves before, and we continue to do so today.

In Hot Springs, economic development has meant more than recruiting a large manufacturer. It has meant supporting entrepreneurs, bringing new businesses downtown, developing workforce partnerships and creating an environment where businesses can grow. The Hot Springs Metro Partnership’s mission is to retain, expand and attract higher-paying jobs while diversifying the regional economy and increasing investment.

That work requires local leaders to have options.

That is why Issue 3 deserves consideration.

Issue 3 would amend the Arkansas Constitution to give the General Assembly authority to establish economic-development districts within cities, counties or cooperative areas and to create economic-development programs.

Importantly, Issue 3 does not select which businesses receive assistance. It does not tell Hot Springs what projects to pursue. And it does not automatically create an economic-development district anywhere in Arkansas.

Instead, it would provide the constitutional authority for the Legislature to establish a framework that could give communities additional tools to compete.

We’re not asking the state to pick winners. We’re asking Arkansas communities to have the ability to compete.

That distinction matters.

Economic development works best when decisions are made by people who understand the community.

Local leaders know where infrastructure needs to be improved. They know which areas are ready for investment. They know what businesses are already operating in their communities and what kinds of jobs their workforce is prepared to support.

Those decisions should not be one-size-fits-all.

Of course, additional tools should come with appropriate accountability. Any future economic-development district program should have clear rules, transparency and safeguards. Communities should be able to explain the public purpose of a project and demonstrate why an investment makes sense.

We can have accountability and competitiveness at the same time.

In fact, we need both.

The reality is that economic opportunities do not wait for us.

When an employer is considering two states for a new facility, the community that can provide the infrastructure or development framework necessary to make the project work has the advantage.

We should not make Arkansas communities start the conversation by explaining what they cannot do.

We should be able to explain what we can do.

Arkansas has the assets to compete. We have hardworking people, strong businesses, natural resources, transportation infrastructure and communities that are committed to their future.

But economic development is a team sport. It takes businesses, local governments, chambers, educators and community leaders working together, and it takes the tools necessary to turn good opportunities into real projects.

Issue 3 would give the Legislature the opportunity to build that framework.

It would not dictate what every community must do. It would not guarantee that every project succeeds. It would simply give Arkansas the ability to provide communities with another tool in the economic-development toolbox.

That’s an opportunity worth having.

We are not asking Little Rock to decide which communities should grow or which businesses should succeed.

We’re asking Arkansas communities to have the ability to compete.

Arkansas has never been afraid of a challenge. We should not be afraid to give our communities the tools to meet it.

We are competing with 49 other states. Arkansas communities should not have to do it with one arm tied behind their back.

Cole McCaskill is interim president and CEO of the Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Hot Springs Metro Partnership.