EC&D receives no county funding for 2009-10

The conclusion of a Lewis County Board of Commissioners recess on August 24, 2009 may have signaled the end of more than ten years of Three Star certification for Lewis County.

If the office of Economic & Community Development is unfunded, the county will immediately lose years of work to achieve state certification which keeps Hohenwald, Lewis County in line for grant funding and low interest loans for infrastructure.  The certification also means the community meets State requirements for industrial readiness.  

This loss comes with a price.

Lewis County Commissioner Mark Graves informed the Board of Directors for the Hohenwald Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Tuesday that the board should probably not expect to receive the other half of hotel/motel tax dollars used last year.  Funding for the Chamber, a local business and industry support organization, was cut in half for 2009-10 as Lewis County Commissioners struggled to balance the budget.

The Chamber was not alone; several non-profit groups who have relied on local tax dollar support also saw cuts this year.  Among those experiencing decreased donations were Centerstone, a mental health facility used by the Lewis County Court system and the sheriff’s department, Buffalo Duck River RC&D, a group providing environmental youth programs, the Lewis County Historical Society, Mid South Mediation, a group which provides anger management and other mediation services to the court system and the TN Rehabilitation Center of Columbia.  Few are complaining of the cuts, at least for now, as the Board of Commissioners was successful in  creating no tax increases for the year. But by not funding the office of the industrial recruiter, the EC&D office, some ask, who is out there informing potential employers of the benefits of doing business in Lewis County?

The costs of the savings could be higher than anticipated.

City of Hohenwald Mayor Don Jones said the City Council had no intention of cutting city support to the office.  “The office is vital.  We have to have an economic development office,” Mayor Jones said Wednesday morning.  “We will keep the office and will keep the contacts we have with the state,” he continued.

When questioned on Tuesday about how not funding the office of EC&D would mean Lewis County could no longer be Three Star certified, Budget Committee Chairman David Rentschler called it an oversight.  Tuesday evening the committee met and discussed the issue.

Chairman of the Board Jonah Keltner and Mayor Jones spoke Wednesday morning and planned a meeting for a joint industrial economic development study committee for September 21, 2009 at 5 p.m. at the office of Economic & Community Development on Court Street.  Members of the committee include Lewis County Commissioners Matt Spitzer, Jason Fite and Ritchie Brewer.  Representing the City of Hohenwald will be Mayor Jones, Vice-Mayor Dr. Dustin Flowers and City Councilman Don Barber.

The committee was formed in May 2009 after the announced resignation of then EC&D Director Phil Griner.