Former McComb mayor and successful economic developer Robert Ingram stressed the importance of community economics and offered a number of methods that can be used to attract new business in a presentation Monday at the McComb Sports Complex.
“Community economics is anything that produces wealth in a community,” Ingram said. “I’m talking about the (Pike, Amite and Walthall counties) region. Dollars do not recognize political boundaries.”
Ingram has more than 30 years of economic development experience in both the public and private sectors and serves as president of the Greater Baldwin County, Ala., Economic Development Partnership.
He has also led economic development in Jackson and Greenwood, and at the University of Southern Mississippi.
He stressed the importance of recruiting manufacturing jobs, labeling the sector a “high multiplayer” that contributes significant revenues into communities.
But recruiting manufacturers may be easier said than done. In a good year, 3,000 major manufacturing plants open. Two-thirds of those companies stick to metropolitan areas.
“Recruiting manufacturing is probably the hardest job in the world,” Ingram said. “You have 10,000 to 15,000 (economic developers) competing for 1,000 manufacturing plants.”
Another challenge, Ingram said, is that while 80 percent of new jobs are created by existing jobs, 100 percent of job losses also are created by existing jobs.
If a business closes and is not replaced, it has a detrimental impact.
“If one business closes, you’ve got to replace that industry,” Ingram said. “You’ve got to continually be bringing in new people and replacing those jobs.”
Ingram also said an increasing number of projects are originating from community websites and Internet research. He recommended Pike County Chamber of Commerce officials make significant changes to their site.
“I’m not impressed with your website,” Ingram said. “There are 1,800 data points consultants look for. Consultants say if they can’t find the information they’re looking for in three clicks, they’re eliminated. You’ve got to update the website.”
He asked local officials to get Pike County Economic Development District executive director Britt Herrin the funds he needs to enroll the county in geographic information system planning, which provides real estate, demographic and industry mapping data to help businesses scout locations.
However, it’s not cheap. Ingram said GIS planning is costing Baldwin County about $60,000 over three years.
Ingram also said the region must increase its number of shovel-ready sites, noting that businesses will choose a comparable city with with a certified site rather than wait on a site.
“You need to have as many certified sites as possible,” he said. “It’s not cheap to do, but it’s absolutely necessary.”
Ingram also detailed his method of ranking site location factors. The region scores high in the top categories, including four-lane highway and interstate access, labor costs and tax exemptions. However, he said state incentives and the lack of skilled labor are hindrances, and he recommends the county build multi-use building to attract a new business.
Public school ratings, he said, are low on the list. Despite that, Ingram stressed the importance of community support for the schools. “No matter where you send your kids to school, you doggone better continue to support your public schools.”
