Dyersburg ranks low on list of business-friendly Tenn. cities; Chamber CEO …

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A recent report released by a research organization, based out of Nashville, ranked Dyersburg as one of the lowest cities in terms of being business friendly in 2010.

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) listed Dyersburg as 49th out of the 50 largest cities in Tennessee in its overall business-friendly ranking, with Memphis listed as the least business friendly.

Mt. Juliet, a Nashville suburb, topped the list as being the most business-friendly city with nine of the top 11 cities being within 30 miles of Nashville.

The survey ranked the cities on three main categories: economic vitality, business tax burden and community allure. Scoring was determined by a number of factors, which included business and individual tax rates, job and population growth, median household income, cost of living, crime rates, and a combination of high school graduation rates and ACT scores.

The TCPR scored economic vitality as 40 percent of the overall score and business tax burden another 40 percent. Community allure was listed as 20 percent of the score.

Dyersburg was listed in last place in the economic vitality category, with Mt. Juliet placing first. The report states Dyersburg “faced the most job loss of any top 50 city”. This could be due to the closing of World Color, which affected approximately 668 employees.

Dyersburg placed 42nd in the business tax burden category, with Memphis coming in last and Farragut, a Knoxville suburb, placing first.

In the community allure category, Dyersburg was listed as 45th, with Memphis in last place and Farrugut listed in the top spot.

The report stated Dyersburg was penalized, along with Tullahoma (48), Knoxville (47) and Oak Ridge (46), in the business tax burden category on their reliance on high property taxes.

Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Allen Hester responded to the report in a letter to the State Gazette saying Dyersburg is actually doing better than the report shows (See “Hester: ‘Business friendly’ survey fails to include key location decision factors” www.rustcom.net/tracker/stories/browse.p….

Hester made note of the fact Dyersburg was only one of nine cities in West Tennessee that made the list. And he stated it was the seconded largest city in West Tennessee outside the Memphis metropolitan area.

He stated the TCPR is part of the State Policy Network, who he says is a group of “free-market think tanks” which is headquartered in Arlington, Va. with ties to the conservative Heritage Foundation and the GFC Foundation, (God, Family, County Foundation based in Orem, Utah) among others.

“There is nothing wrong with all that, but it just needs to be understood by those of us who are being surveyed,” stated Hester.

He also mentioned the TCPR designed the survey and picks the criteria, which he said changes from year to year to suit their purpose at the time. A reference was made of the Nov. 24 issue of the Tennessee Journal, which came out two days after the TCPR’s survey. The weekly newsletter basically said rankings depend on what factors are measured. See the excerpt below:

“Martin, in rural Weakley County, ranked 18th in community allure, 32 spots above No. 50 Memphis, because of better ACT scores, lower cost of living, less crime and lower taxes. It’s all in what you measure, of course. The study gives no weight to boasting an NBA team, Opera Memphis, fine restaurants, and blues clubs. Incidentally, Martin – a fine town, to be sure – also holds more allure than No. 28 Nashville.”

Hester stated one major factor the survey failed to include was the proximity to interstate highways and commercial airports because these are beyond the control of cities.

“But in the real world of site selection and industrial recruitment, those are almost always among the key factors in any location decision, and in at least one case we have seen this year, a prospect instructed us not to respond to their request for information unless we were within one hour of a major commercial airport,” stated Hester. “Which is why we must stay focused on getting TDOT to finish the portion of I-69 from Dyersburg to Millington, which will put us within a one-hour drive of Memphis International Airport – a key strategic advantage for future growth.”

He also stated the source data the TCPR used for the survey may not tell the real story. The cost of living index, median per capita income, and job growth numbers came from Yahoo Real Estate Neighborhood profiles. The residential population growth and high school graduation rates were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACT composite scores came from the Tennessee Department of Education’s 2009 Tennessee Education Report Card. The individual and business tax burden figures came from the “2009 Tennessee property tax rates” by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments; “sales tax rates” from the Tennessee Department of Revenue (Oct. 1, 2010); “city and county business tax comprehension listing” from the Tennessee Department of Revenue (Aug. 26, 2010). And the crime rates came from the FBI’s report of “offenses known to law enforcement: Tennessee”.

He noted Dyersburg’s unemployment figures listed were inconsistent from the ones from the state. And according to Hester, by Yahoo’s data, Dyersburg should have ranked above Union City and Martin in the residential population growth category because Dyersburg saw less population decline than those two cities did.

“I wonder how it is that we had far less decline, according to Yahoo, but scored fewer points here than Martin,” stated Hester.

He also stated Dyersburg actually fared pretty well compared to other West Tennessee cities, ranking above Jackson, Union City and Memphis in the business tax burden category and outperforming Bristol, Maryville, Tullahoma, Knoxville and Oak Ridge.

“But what hurt us here is that we actually have a city property tax, as do most cities, unless they happen to be suburbs of the big metro areas like Mt. Juliet and Farragut, for example,” stated Hester.

In the community allure category, Hester noted Dyersburg did as well as Memphis and Jackson. And although Memphis came in dead last, Hester noted less than a month after the TCPR survey came out, Electrolux unveiled plans to invest $190 million and create 1,200 manufacturing jobs in Memphis.

“Looks like they ignored the survey,” stated Hester.

He did bring notice to the loss of jobs at World Color in his letter, stating Dyersburg has held on to most of the manufacturing base through the worst recession in 70 years.

Although on paper, the low ranking of Dyersburg looks pretty grim, Hester noted some good things occurring in the city, noting 25 new or expanded industry projects that were worked on in 2010 as opposed to only nine in 2009. He also told of new restaurant and retail activity coming to Dyersburg, including a new retail store coming to the Dyersburg Mall in the former Goody’s location and the current construction of the Chick-fil-A, plus renovations are coming to Dyersburg Square.

He also stated a strong indicator of the health of the community are the recent transactions by the Dyer County Industrials Board, whereby some $20 million in plant equipment was purchased from various local industries.

“Would huge companies like Sara Lee, Briggs Stratton and Caterpillar be investing more in Dyersburg if it were not ‘business friendly?'” asked Hester. “I don’t think so.”

He also mentioned visible indicators of new hiring and rehiring around the city’s industrial base with recent job fairs and ads listing jobs in local factories.

“Around here, we’re proud of our manufacturing jobs, and we are well known for that,” sated Hester.

Despite listing low on the TCPR survey, Hester stated just three years ago, Dyersburg was recognized by Site Selection magazine as one of the top 10 economic development groups in the nation. And recognized twice as one of the Top 50 Small Southern Towns, and as a Small Town that Deserves a Second Look by Southern Business Development magazine.

“So, to sum all this up, I’d say again, look carefully at the source of any survey and the survey design, and consider the underlying agenda before making a judgment on the impact of it,” stated Hester. “And look also at the facts at hand as I have described them, taking into account the dramatic upswing in our prospect activity, the retail activity, the expansions already announced and the hiring that is taking place, and realize that Dyersburg has just come through the worst recession in 70 years, but we’re still open for business, and we’re getting stronger every month as our nation recovers from its economic woes.”