4A - Economic Development (part 2)

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1 2 PRINCIPLES 3 Sometimes business owners want the local government to "get out of the way". At other times, those same 4 individuals look to the local government to take aggressive action to promote business growth.A healthy, ongoing 5 public/private partnership between the City of Pequot Lakes and the businesses located inside the city limits must 6 be based on an understanding that each has a part in the process.All must work together. 7 If the local government did everything perfectly, many businesses would still fail. Conversely, if the local 8 government made all the wrong decisions, there will be some businesses that will flourish despite the challenge. 9 What the city government of Pequot Lakes can do to is to create a framework for growth that provides the widest 10 variety of local entrepreneurs the greatest chance for success. 11 To do this,the City must focus on the following three principles: 12 1. Improve businesses competitiveness by reducing the tax burden. 13 2. Induce business growth by streamlining the regulatory process. 14 3. Improve business opportunity by growing the market of people wanting good and services from the 15 businesses of Pequot Lakes. 16 Reduce the Tax Burden 17 The city tax rate is a function of the size of the tax base and the amount of government spending. Over the long 18 term, the City controls the amount of spending, but can only influence the size of the tax base.While sometimes 19 the City needs to make strategic investments to grow the tax base,those investments need to have a clear return 20 if the public spending is designed to reduce the overall tax rate. 21 Since the City has an implied obligation to maintain existing infrastructure systems,the way for the City of Pequot 22 Lakes to control the tax burden over the long-term is to make better use of those infrastructure investments. 23 Streamline the Regulatory Process 24 If Pequot Lakes is going to be competitive, it needs to be easy to do business in town. In the past, some of the 25 processes and regulations inherited or developed locally created unnecessary obstacles for businesses and did not 26 provide enough value to justify their application. That has started to change with recent initiatives, and further 27 unwinding is necessary. 28 It is important, however,to maintain a common set of standards in order to protect existing investments.The City 29 should not adopt the standards of neighboring communities in a "race to the bottom" approach to deregulation. 30 Pequot is a unique community with an approach to economic growth and development that differs significantly 31 from the area communities of Brainerd, Baxter, Nisswa, Breezy Point and Jenkins. The City needs to have high 32 standards that fit with the community and then focus on how those standards are applied and what can be done 33 to streamline the approval process. 34 Grow the Market 121 Page