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Published on Thursday, December 14, 2006 Gazette Opinion: Generating community
investment
The sun wasn't up yet Wednesday when more than
300 people gathered at Montana State University-Billings to discuss
building up our community's future.That so many business people, educators, legislators and other community leaders would attend a two-hour pre-dawn "Economy and Education" forum in the hectic pre-legislative, pre-holiday season shows there's great hope for success. "We're working from a position of strength in Yellowstone County," said economist Larry Swanson, director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula. Swanson returned to Billings to continue a conversation sponsored by Celebrate Billings, a partnership led by Billings Clinic, St. Vincent Healthcare, MSU-Billings, the Foundation for Community Vitality and The Billings Gazette. Swanson used U.S. Department of Commerce data to show how this county has grown economically, in labor earnings, in per capita income and in personal income. Yellowstone County is sharing the wealth with its neighboring counties, as are Montana's six other urban centers. Wages from city jobs are distributed into nearby towns and counties where commuting workers live, Swanson said. Eighty percent of all Montanans now live within 50 miles of one of the state's seven largest cities. Billings has added 12,000 residents and annexed 6.4 square miles of land in the past five years, yet its growth has generated only $300,000 more in new city tax revenues, City Administrator Tina Volek said. That hasn't been enough to cover increasing cost of public services without dipping into reserves and increasing fees for city services. Volek's remarks confirmed what Swanson's data showed: Investment in local government hasn't kept pace with growth in the Yellowstone County/Billings economy's private sector. Billings Chamber of Commerce President John Brewer said the community must invest in human capital. "A good work force starts in our K-12 schools," Brewer said. "We need to keep our youth here. We need to recruit Montanans who have left to come back home." It was important to have a panel of business, local government and education leaders sharing the stage for this community conversation, which will continue in meetings next year. Questions from the attentive crowd confirmed its enthusiasm for moving Billings forward. Those who gathered Wednesday and others will have to develop and strengthen partnerships. Many good citizens will have to stay engaged for the long run. At the 100,000 population mark, Billings has become a midsize city. Now its people must work to make it a great city. Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. Talk Back!Post your
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NO MORE TAXES!!!!!!!!! wrote on December 14, 2006 2:24 AM
It doesn't seem to matter how much we pay in taxes, there are always groups out there advocating and justifying more and more taxes. If we create a NEW sales taxes it tax will slowly creep higher and higher over the years. If you combine this NEW sales tax with all the other taxes we have to pay every year we Montana residents will become poorer and poorer. Say NO to these greedy special intersst groups. NO MORE TAXES!!!   Billings Gazette = More Taxes wrote on December 14, 2006 2:38 AM
It would be refreshing to find the Billings Gazette advocate lower taxes once in awhile for the hard-working Billings area residents. Instead they advocate for ever more spending, more money for teachers unions, higher taxes, more regulation. The Billings Gazette is getting more and more liberal and the fact that their big government advocacy is being woven into their news stories more and more is a disturbing trend. When will the Billings Gazette support lower taxes and less government spending? I think the more the Billings Gazette pushes for more government, bigger taxes, NEW taxes the more people will not bother reading the Billings Gazette because people will discover its become a mouthpiece for Democrats, teachers unions and liberals. I wish the Billings Gazette would fight for the little guy once in awhile instead of teachers unions and big government. |
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