Good Jobs for Abilene

History Behind Good Jobs For Abilene

A group of local businesspersons commissioned an independent study of the proposed Abilene Youth Sports Authority (AYSA) sports venue. The report is entitled The Efficiency of Economic Development Expenditures: Returns to Primary Job Creation Under the Stewardship of the Development Corporation of Abilene.

This commissioning group included:

Grady Barr
Tucker Bridwell
Ken Burgess
Joe Canon
Ray Ferguson
Bill Senter

and, as members of the business community and community volunteers, they recognized the merits of the AYSA, but were curious about how the Development Corporation of Abilene(DCOA) performed in contrast to this proposed youth sports venue

This report concluded was that:

The DCOA outperforms the proposed AYSC $6 to $1.
The DCOA has the potential to create over $1 billion in incomes and tax revenues over the next 30 years with the same $15 million under consideration on the May referendum.
This venue appeals to a select population, not the community as a whole.
IF the city has to take on the AYSA's deficit of $429,600, it could cost us with additional taxes or reduced city programming.
Tourist venues are easy to replicate; successful and diverse economics are not.

Based on these conclusion, these leaders decided that it is not prudent to use our economic development dollars to fund a risky venture that promises less in job creation. They created Good Jobs for Abilene for that very reason: that the DCOA has a successful track record of job creation and needs to continue helping our local economy grow.

Good Jobs For Abilene

VOTE NO MAY 10 AGAINST THE AYSA SPORTS COMPLEX

"It's just not a good use of economic development funds," Ferguson said, noting that the AYSA's promised return on investment -- as far as jobs, wages and new property taxes -- falls well short of what the DCOA has gotten in return for investing in businesses. stated by Ray Ferguson, in an April 4, 2008 article in the Abilene Reporter-News. Read the Abilene Reporter-News article in full.

The AYSA says you can have their sports venue and job creation. They have fabricated their own figures regarding job creation, claiming the AYSA can be funded and money will be left over to generate double the number of jobs annually. These figures are wholly without basis in the facts. To believe this statement, you have to stop paying all operating expenses, discontinue all assistance to Dyess and Military Affairs, eliminate all assistance to small businesses, fire all the economic development staff, and believe that these actions will double the number of jobs created! With proponents making claims like this, there need to be a lot more questions asked about the financial viability of their business plan.

John Hill’s complete report is available for public inspection at: www.hilleconomics.com

To get the $11.4 million economic benefits touted by the proponents, we have to give up $66 million of the same benefits.

To get the more than $400,000 additional tax revenue touted by the proponents, we have to give up $2,400,000 in new tax revenue.

The DCOA provides incentives based on economic performance. This project would be funded regardless of economic performance.

If the project is approved by the voters, the DCOA will have to cut back its activities by 20 to 25 percent for the next 10 years or do nothing for the next two years.

The DCOA has contributed to the diversification of the local economy by investing in prisons, carbon, plastics, wind, boilers, boats, engineering, beverages, oil and gas, rubber, industrial fans, processed foods, air transportation, publishing, management services, software engineering, biotechnology, pharmacology, etc.

If this is an economic development issue, then it should be evaluated like all other economic development opportunities. According to John Hill’s report (and a point conceded by the proponents), this project doesn’t measure well as an economic development issue. At 1/6^th the benefit, it doesn’t even make it to first base.

If this is a quality-of-life issue (as the proponents are now claiming), then economic development funds should not be diverted to fund it.

The more other cities utilize economic development funds for quality of life projects, the greater our ability to compete for economic develop projects. Quality of life projects are more likely to become a drain on local tax dollars. Let’s not make the same mistake other communities have made.

According to the Abilene Industrial Foundation (the entity tasked with marketing Abilene to companies wanting to expand or relocate), quality-of-life issues may help companies keep employees, but are low priorities when companies decide where to locate. What ultimately attracts workers to a city is a job with thriving or stable employer who offers good benefits. Most people don’t move to a city and say “I really like their parks. I think I’ll move here.” They find a good job and then are delighted that it’s in a city with good schools, safe neighborhoods and good medical care.

With a national economic slowdown looming, now is not the time to redirect funds from job creation to quality-of-life.

political advertising paid for by Good Jobs for Abilene
Ray Ferguson, Treasurer | P.O. Box 2482 | Abilene, TX 79604-2482