Page 35 - Murfreesboro, TN Comprehensive Plan: Chapter 7, Economic Development

Economic Development 7.35

DRAFT 12.02.15

to each entity. For example, the City of McKinney, Texas
works with the Collin College Center for Workforce and
Economic Development to provide employee workforce
training, continuing education, and assessment tests for
incoming businesses and their prospective employees,
which is another form of a public/private partnership.
Main Street programs are a state guided approach to
revitalizing downtown areas across the nation and
represent another type of public/private partnership.
Florence, Alabama, McKinney, Texas, Columbia,
Missouri, Athens, Georgia and Franklin, Tennessee
currently participate in their respective states’ Main
COLLIN COLLEGE CENTER FOR WORKFORCE Street program. As a Main Street Alabama city, the
& ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT City of Florence employs the National Trust for Historic
Public/Private Partnership in McKinney, TX Preservation’s four-point approach to monitor the
development and continuing growth of the downtown
area, designating four committees (Executive,
business leaders allow for streamlined communication Organizational, Promotions, and Design) to oversee the
between multiple entities, providing a smoother process future of the district. Funding for the initiative is through
for businesses relocating to the area. The connection to partnerships with the City of Florence, private sponsors,
the university and colleges puts businesses in touch with individuals, and Florence Main Street Fundraisers.
specialized employee training opportunities without
the prospective new business having to search for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
opportunities on their own. In Asheville, North Carolina,
the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority There are several economic development tools that cities
(BCTDA) is a quasi-jurisdictional entity that oversees can utilize to attract new businesses to the area. Some
tourism marketing, sales and product development, tools may work better in different cities based on the
and the expenditures of occupancy tax revenues – resources available to them so no two comparison cities
key components in the economic development and provided the same type of incentives, grants, bonds,
stability of a city. Working through the local Chamber or tax reliefs. Many cities have established different
of Commerce and local business owners, the BCTDA districts or zones in order to attract new development.
promotes Asheville through out-of-market advertising, The City of Charlottesville, Virginia provides a
resulting in over 3.3 million visitors each year. “Technology Zone” to promote the advancement of
technology-based businesses. This citywide zone is
PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS the first of its kind in the Commonwealth of Virginia,
which creates tax incentives to qualified businesses
Partnerships are formed between cities and private and reduces business license taxes. As depicted in
entities to capitalize on the development tools available

FIGURE 7.9, BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID)
Cary, North Carolina