Creating A Successful County-Wide Economic Development Program
CRD-9, July 1994. V. Wilson Lee, Extension Economist Emeritus, Community Resource Development, Auburn University

County rural development (CRD) committees are local, county-wide, and mostly unincorporated groups that are not formally affiliated with any governmental agency or organization. They provide a forum in which concerned citizens can identify and discuss community problems, determine needs and set goals, identify resources, provide or secure leadership, and guide local development program efforts. These committees are concerned with the total range of social and economic problems of the community.

The basic idea behind CRD committees is to secure the cooperation of local citizens, other community organizations, local governments, and state and federal agencies in a local development program designed to meet the recognized needs of the community. CRD committees have been effective at involving people in programs to improve their county and community.

When a CRD committee determines a need for creating additional employment to stimulate the local economy, to keep its young people at home, and to bring back those who have left, it should not overlook the possibility of attracting new manufacturing facilities to the area or of expanding existing industries.

Since 1971, Alabama has become one of the leading sunbelt states in expanding existing manufacturing firms and in attracting new ones. The state’s wealth of natural and scenic resources, its friendly and progressive people, and its many other desirable characteristics resulted in more than $24 billion worth of announced capital investments during the period 1971-1986. Alabama ranked number one in the southeastern states in announced capital investment during much of this period.

For your community to participate in this growth, it must be prepared. This publication is designed to guide a CRD committee through the steps of developing the organizational structures and creating the awareness and interest necessary to foster economic development.

One of the first things the CRD committee will want to do is to poll the membership to determine their objectives for the area during the coming years. Do they want to increase manufacturing jobs and thus increase the opportunities for young people to stay in the community? If so, then the first step is for the CRD committee to organize itself for action.

One of the best committee approaches is to designate an economic development subcommittee or team (six or eight members) with county-wide representation to develop the educational programs and materials necessary. If a county is starting from scratch, it will likely take up to five years to see tangible results.

The most difficult work comes in building the organizational team that will develop the attitudes and amenities necessary for a successful program. The team must be composed of leading citizens, business people, and others who have the necessary vision and willpower to push the program to a successful conclusion. The team members should be assigned to cover these 11 basic areas:

1.	Promotion	7.	City/county commitments
2.	Labor	8.	Taxes
3.	Sites and available buildings	9.	Utilities
4.	Transportation	10.	Construction and insurance
5.	Community service	11.	Industrial resources
6.	Community financing

Influential leaders must be involved and each committee or team member must become an expert in one or more of the above areas. A program must be developed to get local industrial leaders involved. In some areas with successful industrial development programs, quarterly meetings are held with local plant managers and political leaders to discuss problems and to work together to make the area a better place in which to live and work.

It is important to know how local industrial leaders feel about the committee. Prospects coming to an area will always want to talk with local firms to determine the attitudes of the community toward manufacturing plants and the community’s response to various problems.

Due to the tremendous cost of developing an area to make it attractive to manufacturing firms, some rural areas promote county or area-wide programs. This distributes the cost over several governing bodies and permits the area to develop industrial properties and promotional programs that will benefit all. A CRD committee with a broad base of county-wide volunteer participation can be instrumental in developing an educational program that will help overcome these deficiencies.

Many communities have found that more things can be accomplished when they work together. The Boaz-Albertville area in Marshall County is a prime example of what can be accomplished when community leaders work together to achieve economic development goals. After the municipal elections of 1972, elected officials met at a local restaurant. They shook hands and agreed to bury the hatchet and join their efforts in total cooperation between the two towns. In October of 1982, 14 new plants providing 2,625 jobs and an annual payroll of $36,726,375 were located in the 400-acre Sand Mountain Industrial Park that borders the adjoining limits of the two cities.

Residents within a 40-mile radius benefit equally when a new capital-intensive manufacturing plant moves into a community. The 1977 Legislature passed two bills that permit local units of government to work together to jointly finance and develop industrial land and to allow a county to undertake a project. Alabama Act 694 permits different levels of government to jointly acquire, finance, and develop industrial lands. Alabama Act 762 permits county governments to undertake a project.

According to research conducted in three rural Alabama counties by the Auburn University Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, an overwhelming majority of those interviewed favor intergovernmental cooperation on economic development projects.

Step 2. Evaluate Local Preferences, Assets, And Liabilities

Determine local preferences. An effort must be made to determine what type of economic growth most of the citizens prefer. Managers of existing firms should be included in an effort to determine what types of firms would best complement the existing base. Various other groups and leaders in the area should be consulted to determine their thinking and to gather ideas about directions for implementing an economic development program.

Analyze the basic resources. In determining a locality’s potential for economic development, the first step is to analyze the available natural, human, and physical resources. Natural resources include the agricultural, forestry, mineral, and recreational base that is available. Are the agricultural and forestry resources developed to their fullest potential? If not, what is needed to fully develop these resources? Second, consider the mineral resources and determine the potential and feasibility of fully developing these. Even those mineral resources which do not have current economic value should be recorded in case conditions change. Third, examine the recreational resources. Could more tourists be attracted to the area? If so, what should be done to capitalize on these resources?

In analyzing the human resource base, look at the basic composition of the population. Is it urban or rural, farm or nonfarm, white or nonwhite? What is the educational level? Are the people trainable for higher paying positions? Do the educational facilities exist for this training? What is the prevailing attitude toward industrial development.

Physical resources include available industrial buildings, navigable waterways, rail service, highways, and airports. In some cases, these facilities determine if a prospect looks at a community. Industrial development authorities say that in the last several years, 60 to 70 percent of the prospects that come into Alabama are looking for an available building. A community without this resource may be automatically excluded from consideration.

A navigable waterway, dependable rail service, good highways, and a county airport are important assets. If the energy crisis becomes more acute, the availability of rail and water transportation facilities will become increasingly important in determining the location of some types of manufacturing plants. The economic benefits of these resources are apparent when you consider that on the average the shipper’s dollar moves a ton of freight five miles by air, 15.4 miles by truck, 66.7 miles by rail, and 333.3 miles by barge.¹

Analyze the existing level of living or quality of life. The second major area the CRD committee should examine is the quality of life in the community, including factors such as per-capita income, type of employment, commuting patterns, and population trends over the past 20 to 30 years. From these facts the committee can project the magnitude of the industrial development job ahead.

One of the best indexes to measure how well your county stacks up against the rest of the state is per-capita income. Most rural counties fall below the state average, some by as much as $4,278. The Alabama per-capita income ran almost $1,700 below the national average in 1984.² Very few Alabama counties are equal to or above the national level.

Another good measure of the quality of life is the number of people who must commute outside the county to find work. Some Alabamians are currently commuting more than 40 miles daily for a good job. Most of Alabama’s rural counties have many more out-commuters for adequate employment than in-commuters. If adequate employment was available near their homes, most workers would prefer to commute shorter distances.

In assessing a county’s position relative to other counties, look at population trends during the past three decades. For some of Alabama’s rural counties, the population trend between 1970 and 1980 has been drifting steadily downward as young people move away to find employment. During this same period, Alabama’s population increased by 12.9 percent.³

Determine the effectiveness of existing organizations. For an industrial development program to have any consistent degree of success, an active and aggressive industrial development organization must be involved. This requires teamwork between elected and appointed officials, local business people, and community leaders.

In determining the effectiveness of existing organizations, look at the county’s track record. When was the last time a new manufacturing plant came to the county? How or why did it come? Who was involved? What type of industrial development program is currently underway? Does the county have industrial development boards? Does the county have chambers of commerce or citizen committees to promote economic development? How active are these organizations? How effective are they? How often do they meet? How well are they financed? What is their source of funds? The most active and successful industrial development committees have good financial support from local merchants.

In looking at the effectiveness of existing organizations, try to determine what local factors have contributed to or hindered growth during the past 30 years. Was it lack of cooperation between merchants and political leaders, or was it lack of intergovernmental cooperation between communities within the county and the county governing body? Was it lack of knowledge on the part of citizens and local officials or was it other factors, such as apathy? All of these things should be considered to more effectively develop an educational program to deal with the problem and develop the positive attitudes that are necessary for a successful program.

Step 3. Secure Technical Assistance.

Expert technical assistance is a must if a community is to avoid costly mistakes. Assistance can be secured without charge from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, various utilities which serve your area, railroads, financial institutions, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, and the Alabama Development Office. Experts from these agencies are capable, willing, and eager to work with community leaders in such areas as selecting the best industrial sites and pulling together the right team to sell your community to prospects. They can also help with many other details that are necessary to put together a winning program.

Step 4. Develop An Educational Program.

For an economic development program to be successful, citizens of the county must become aware of the importance of economic development and the role each citizen can play. Educational needs should be determined. For example, do the citizens know that of the 6,976 Alabama firms engaged in mining and manufacturing in 1980, more than half were located in communities of less than 10,000 people? Thirty-five percent of the firms were located in communities of less than 2,500 people.

Between 1970 and 1980, of the 1,150 firms that located in Alabama, 29 percent or 324 located in towns of less than 2,500 people.⁴ This speaks well for the leadership in Alabama’s rural communities and small towns and should encourage those citizens in our rural counties. It is expected that in the years ahead, rural areas will become more attractive to manufacturing firms.

Educational goals that will meet the desires of local people should be set, a more positive attitude toward economic development should be fostered, and better cooperation among various communities should be encouraged. The committee should determine the technical assistance needed to help the community achieve stated goals and ascertain where this assistance can be found. Sources of technical and educational assistance include the Alabama Development Office, Regional Planning and Development agencies, railroad companies, some utility companies, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), regional industrial development associations, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

In determining the industrial development potential of a rural area, the industrial development team should contact the local planning commission and involve them to the fullest extent possible in planning for industrial development needs in the decades ahead.

Another excellent educational tool is touring areas that have developed successful economic development programs to determine what they did to get started as well as what they are currently doing to remain vital in their efforts.

Outside speakers from some of those successful areas can also help create awareness, interest, and enthusiasm, all of which are necessary ingredients for a successful economic development program.

Step 5. Set Goals, Plans, Policies, And Procedures.

It is important to set realistic, achievable economic development goals for the community. From working with existing firms that may expand in the community to attracting new ones, the end result is the same: more jobs and a better quality of life for everyone. Definite plans, policies, and procedures must be formulated to ensure a healthy, dynamic community. No community wants unplanned, unregulated growth.

To ensure optimum growth and development, institute policies and contacts for the type of firms that will best fit your community, and implement procedures that will bring orderly and beneficial growth. Many smaller communities are becoming involved in the Alabama prepared city/county program. This program is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) and is an on-going program of that agency. Becoming a part of this program can be helpful in setting goals, making plans, and setting policies for the community.

Step 6. Develop Utilities And Sites For Industry.

Analyze the public facilities and services available. Many communities have not fully realized the relationship between good public facilities and services and their attractiveness to prospective manufacturers. The value of such facilities ranges from desirable factors enhancing the quality of life to absolute necessities for production.

Many communities do not yet have sufficient water to supply industrial customers. Some types of plants require tremendous amounts of high-quality water. Needs of a million gallons per day are not uncommon among some manufacturers. Always look at the current capacity of the existing system as well as its current use. Also consider the potential capacity of the water source as well as treatment facilities.

Adequate sewage treatment facilities are extremely important to a community considering the possibility of attracting new manufacturing jobs. A rural community that has adequate sewage treatment facilities is at the top in its ability to attract new plants. When a prospect is considering an area, one of the first things that must be determined is the amount of extra effluent that a community can handle. These answers may be determined quickly by checking with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

A community without adequate sewage treatment facilities is often eliminated from consideration. There are cases, however, when a packaged treatment system can be installed to serve a particular plant.

In studying sewage needs, the committee should look at the capacity of the existing system and determine its current load and potential load. The committee must also become familiar with the type of system on hand and what, if any, plans are being made to expand or upgrade the system.

Most industrial firms are not interested in settling on an unimproved “back 40” but are looking for a site or part that is zoned and developed for industrial use. They are not interested in haggling over price. Land without a stated and fixed price is practically useless for promotional purposes.

Another item for consideration is the degree of development of the land in question. Is it cleared, planted in grass, and mowed? Not all trees have to be removed, but the prospect should be able to visualize the plant on the site and walk over it without being hindered by undergrowth. Is adequate public access available via paved (hard surfaced) or at least graded roads? Are water, sewage, electricity, and gass installed to or on the site? Are fire hydrants installed at the site? Has the load-bearing capacity of the soil been determined? Have contour maps been prepared showing 2-foot intervals?

Good, dependable transportation is also important to any manufacturer, both from the standpoint of bringing in raw materials and of delivering finished products. If a community has both water and rail transportation, it is much more attractive to many prospects; however, if water is not available, a community with good rail service has a definite advantage. This does not mean that a community without rail cannot have a successful industrial development program. It can. However, it is not as attractive as one with rail and is limited in the firms it can attract.

Good highways are essential for truck and bus service, and close proximity to air transportation is also important. Many companies require local airports for use by company planes.

Other services such as good communications and ample natural gas and electric power are also essential for a sound economic development program. Educational facilities should also be analyzed to ascertain their weak points and means of correcting them. County vocational schools, trade schools, junior and senior colleges, and libraries located in the area are all important assets to be included in the community’s package of facilities and services that make it attractive to industrial firms.

Economic development is expensive. Therefore, it is important to create an awareness of the financial support needed for a viable program. In effect, each merchant in the county must become a salesperson for the community. It is also important that merchants be willing to contribute financial support to the program to ensure its success.

Step 7. Search For And Sign Up Business And Industrial Firms

One of the projects the subcommittee should undertake is the documentation of the items contained in each of the 11 areas listed under Step 1.

Is there an individual or a committee who can speak for the community and make commitments that will be honored? Have appropriate site and community documentation materials been prepared and put in a form that can be easily read and understood by a prospective manufacturer? Many rural communities have not adequately advertised and sold their many strong points to prospective manufacturers. A well-prepared brochure provides the documentation necessary to convey the community’s strong points and to help sell the community to the prospect.

Get your community’s message into the hands of every business or industrial firm that might be interested in and suited to your community’s situation. Remember that every business and community leader is a potential salesperson for the community and that existing industrial firms usually offer the best source of new jobs.

¹The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Story, Columbus, Mississippi: Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority, January 1979.

²Office of State Planning and Federal Planning and Federal Programs, Alabama County Data Book, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Montgomery, Alabama 1987, p. 80.

³Accent Alabama, Vol. 2, No. 2, June 1981.

⁴The Alabama Development Office.