THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602030001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: BY JAMES F. BABCOCK
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Here's a wake-up call:
For the past decade, Virginia's urban areas have trailed competitors such as Charlotte, Jacksonville and Atlanta in job and income growth. The relative decline of Virginia's central cities has been holding back the economic performance of suburban cities and counties. Hampton Roads' per-capita income, never high, has declined since 1992 from 91 percent of the national average to 87 percent.
Historic legislation is being considered by Virginia's legislature. The proposed Regional Competitiveness Act will help mitigate the mediocre performance of the commonwealth's metro-area economies, including Hampton Roads. Jobs and income growth are at stake.
SB 565/SB 566 and HB 1515/HB 1516, chief patroned by Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, and Del. Frank Hall, D-Richmond, respectively, and strongly supported by Speaker Tom Moss, D-Norfolk, and Senate Finance Co-Chairman Stanley Walker, D-Norfolk, would provide state incentives to induce the municipalities of a regional economy to work together on a shared agenda for improving job and income growth for the benefit of all.
The bills are proposed by the Urban Partnership, an unprecedented two-year collaboration of the commonwealth's business and municipal leaders. The participants, drawn from 18 cities and counties and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, concluded that making our cities and metro areas richer, safer, nicer places to live and work will require solutions based on regionalism and neighborhood action.
Local initiative will determine the actual shape of action plans, but state incentives will be essential to move the municipalities to action.
With its great climate, low taxes, tight fiscal management, right-to-work law, good schools and educated and willing work force, Virginia has been content until recently to rest on its laurels in economic development.
Some in Hampton Roads have seen the risk and the opportunity for years, however. The Virginia Port Authority was formed in 1983 to market our ports more effectively. With double-digit annual growth ever since, the VPA still stands as the brightest beacon of the benefits of regional cooperation.
Other milestones:
The two sides of Hampton Roads were joined in a single metropolitan statistical area to lever us into 27th place nationally for marketing purposes.
The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce formed Forward Hampton Roads to provide a regional vehicle for industry recruitment to the five Southside cities.
Old Dominion University exerted its research capabilities to form dozens of partnerships for local growth.
Three years ago, building on these efforts, more than 400 area business, university and government leaders joined to create a vision of what Hampton Roads' economy can be in the 21st century - Plan 2007.
Since 1994, Plan 2007's sponsoring organizations and industry groups have been implementing one project after another to foster job growth. The Virginia Waterfront tourism campaign is the most-visible example of many such fruitful initiatives.
The Mayors and Chairs Caucus of Hampton Roads is working to create a regional structure for implementing Plan 2007 strategies that require municipal collaboration with business and the military.
Thinking and acting regionally is a major prescription of Plan 2007, which is why its executive board has strongly endorsed the Urban Partnership's proposed legislation.
Our legislators have lined up behind the proposals of the Urban Partnership. Local patrons, in addition to Messrs. Walker, Earley and Moss, include Senators Holland, Lucas, Maxwell, Quayle and Williams and Delegates Behm, Christian, Cooper, Councill, Crittenden, Croshaw, Diamonstein, Grayson, Heilig, Jones, Moore, Morgan, Nelms, Purkey, Robinson, Spruill and Wagner.
When the Urban Partnership unveiled its recommendations on Dec. 6, 1995, former Gov. Linwood Holton said, ``The Urban Partnership is not about regional government, it is not about increasing taxes, it is not about poverty programs - it is about economic development.''
In Richmond on Jan. 18, more than 70 legislative co-patrons joined Urban Partnership leaders to announce the proposed legislation. Speaking in its support, Norfolk Southern CEO David Goode said, ``Without thriving core cities, you're not in the game where locating offices or industry is concerned.''
Former Gov. Mills Godwin, noting he had set up the Hahn Commission in 1966 to improve the structure of local government, said, ``After 30 years, even Virginia can decide that it's time to actually do something.''
We all should let our legislator know we agree that it's time to pass this historic legislation. MEMO: Mr. Babcock is chairman of First Virginia Bank of Tidewater and
co-chairman of Plan 2007.
by CNB