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Sunday, May 6, 2018

Economic chaos strikes Jackson County. What should we do?

Dale Cox is a retired business leader and journalist
who lives in the "suburbs" of Two Egg, Florida. He has
received national awards for literature and investigative
journalism and has managed multi-million dollar
media outlets and news operations in locations
across the United States.
The following is an open letter to the people and leaders of our community.

Jackson County residents are awakening to a financial crisis that is striking our community from the top to bottom.

The move to close Fire Rescue stations on some days due to insufficient staffing numbers brought the situation home to many, but the county's budget situation is neither sudden nor unexpected. In fact, it has been building for years and numerous local citizens and business people have raised concerns about it only to be promised callbacks that never came or reassurances that the matter was being studied.

In one case a local businessman was even told by an intermediary that he should get behind a specific county commissioner politically if he wanted to be heard.

So what happened? Where did the money go? What can we do about it?

Here are some answers that you have not read in the Jackson County Floridan or Jackson County Times. In their defense, the former often blames lack of staffing for its inability to cover key stories in the community while the latter sometimes says that it only covers "good news."

What is the problem?

The answer, in short, is that we are in the depths of an economic recession that goes far beyond what the rest of the nation suffered in 2008-2009.

Full-time employment in the county is down dramatically since around 2006 due to NAFTA which was a factor in the closings of the local Russell Corporation plants and facilities as well as other industrial operations; the closure of Dozier School for Boys due to the controversy and publicity that surrounded the facility; the loss or downsizing of businesses that supplied these facilities and, last but not least, a dramatic decline in the number of locally owned small businesses.

The net result of the above is that we have lost thousands of full-time jobs with benefits while at the same time local public assistance rolls have skyrocketed.

Financially, many more people in our community are hurting than our leaders seem to realize.

Consider these two statistics:

  • Median income in Jackson County has declined from $36,442 in 2009 to $35,470 in 2016. This is a drop of $972 over seven years. As economic development experts will tell you, that is a shocking decline.
  • The number of businesses in Jackson County has dropped from 863 in 2007 before the national recession began to 768 in 2017. In other words, we have lost 10% of our business community since 2007.
As Jackson County is learning the hard way, unemployment numbers do not always tell the true story of what is happening to a community's economy. Unemployment numbers, for example, do not count people who have been unemployed for so long that they no longer receive unemployment compensation. Nor do they count the people once employed here who have been forced to move away in search of work.

Young people are leaving for better opportunities in other places.

You often hear people say that their son or daughter, niece or nephew had to leave Jackson County to find a good job. This is more true today than ever.

Here are the facts:
  • Jackson County has 1,906 fewer people in the primary working age demographic (18-65) than it did just 8 years ago. 
  • Local officials often blame this on population aging - or as one county leader actually put it - "old people dying off." Census data, however, suggests that this is not the case. The county's population of residents over the age of 65 - many of whom still work to make ends meet - has indeed grown by 1,253 people since 2010. Unfortunately, we have lost 2,715 people in the 18-65 and 17 and under age groups. 
  • Jackson County has lost 617 households since 2009. If you think you are seeing more "for sale" signs along our roads and streets, you are.
  • The drain in our labor force is a very real problem when it comes to attracting new industry to the community. If we can't demonstrate that we have a strong, prepared labor force, we can't attract industry. No factory wants to open somewhere only to find that it can't hire enough people to run its lines.
Sales Tax collections are down.

The loss of 95 businesses, the decline in population and the loss of full-time jobs are all impacting the retail business in Jackson County. Here are the facts:
  • Sales tax collections in the main category are down dramatically over the first 8 months of 2017-2018 when compared to the same line item for the same months in the year before the recession (2006-2007).
  • The drop is bigger than you might think. This year, collections in this category are down by $244,823 from their level in the first 8 months of 2006-2007.
Money that one decade ago was helping to fund local government is simply no longer there in the amount that it was back then.

Gasoline Tax collections are down.

Gasoline taxes fund road work and improvements in Jackson County. These monies too, however, are on the decline. 
  • Using 1-cent local option gas tax collections to measure this decline, the amount brought in during the first 7 months of the 2017-2018 fiscal year is down by $8,394 since 2006/2007.
  • The real number has dropped from $391,034 during the first 7 months of 2006/2007 to $382,640 during the first 7 months of this fiscal year.
  • All other gas tax collections that benefit the county are also down. 
As families cut back on expenses or leave the area, their need to buy gasoline here decreases. When fuel purchases go down, money coming into county coffers also goes down. 

Tourism is way down.

Jackson County had a small but thriving tourism industry in 2006/2007. It has dropped by around 10% since that time.
  • Tourism tax (i.e. "bed tax") collections in Jackson County were $124,158 for the first four months of 2017-2018 (the most recent numbers available). This is a drop of $12,032 in actual dollars from 2006-2007 when collections totaled $136,190.
  • Just as sales tax collections reflect retail sales in a community, tourism tax collections reflect hotel and campground stays. Fewer people are staying here overnight than were doing so one decade ago.
  • Attendance at Blue Springs is down dramatically since the county commission doubled entrance fees. Numbers for the 2017 summer season show a decline of nearly 15,000 visitors since 2014, when fees were increased. Money collected at the gate is down since that year. Concession sales are down since that year. Boat rental fees are down. Pavilion rental fees are down. Total revenue from the park is down by around $18,000 from 3 years ago. If that trend continues this summer, the park will make less money than it did before fees were doubled while serving nearly 20,000 fewer local residents and visitors.
It should be mentioned that efforts designed to help attract more visitors to Jackson County have often been blunted or ignored by county administration. Consider the following:
  • The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity funded and approved the results of a $20,000 study on ways to improve tourism traffic along U.S. 90 in Jackson County. The plan was prepared by this writer and approved not only by the state, but also by the Tourist Development Council and the Board of County Commissioners. Since that time, several years ago, nothing has been done implement any of the recommendations. One county official even informed a group in Sneads last year that he "hadn't had time to read it" and wasn't sure what he had done with his copy. 
  • Local citizens raised and gave to the county more than $5,000 in funding for boardwalks on the Bellamy Bridge trail, an amount matched by the Tourist Development Council. County officials gave assurances that the money was sufficient for the purpose. Despite annual promises to build the footbridges - which will allow access to the popular tourism attraction during most times of high water - they still have not been built. The county now says that it has spent the money donated for the purpose and despite repeated requests has failed to answer specific questions about unauthorized expenditures from the fund.
  • Requests that the Tourist Development Council lead a group to organize an annual reenactment of the Battle of Marianna were rejected. A reenactment of the battle staged for its 150th anniversary in 2014 attracted thousands of people. 
  • One of the landings on the Merritt's Mill Pond canoe trail has been closed by property owners and has not been replaced. 
  • The Upper Chipola River paddling trail, approved by the state after the county promised to maintain it, is barely maintained.
  • The county's decade old effort to create an approved plan for development of tourism resources along Lake Seminole from Neals Landing on Highway 2 to Sneads is still not complete.
  • The fall in tourism tax revenue is also reflected by the decline of gas tax collections. With our population and median income falling, our failure to return to pre-recession/pre-Dozier controversy levels of tourism has is hurting us in areas far beyond hotel stays.
"Other places have the same problems."

This is a common excuse heard in Jackson County, but is it true? Consider these facts:
  • Holmes County to our west and Gadsden County to our east have increased their sales tax revenues during the same time that Jackson County has seen its revenues fall. In fact, those two counties along have increased sales tax collections by $879,000 during the period described above while Jackson County has suffered a decline of $244,000.
  • Washington County and Holmes County, on US 90 and I-10 west of Jackson County, have increased their 1-cent local option gas tax collections while Jackson County has experienced a drop. Washington County's collections are up by $8,540 and Holmes County's by $2,076 while Jackson is down by more than $8,000.
  • Tourism is increasing in Washington and Holmes Counties to our west and Gadsden County to our east, while falling in Jackson County. Washington County has increased its tourism tax collections over the period described above by $4,896. Holmes County is up by a remarkable $14,794. Gadsden County is up by $25,104. This reflects an increase of more than $40,000 in tourism tax collections by adjoining rural counties while Jackson County's dropped by more than $12,000.
What is the answer?

This is the question that many of us have been pondering for years. I have discussed the very same trends outlined above with county administrators, county commissioners, tourism leaders, other business people and at the Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Jackson County class for years. Others have done the same. Our inability to get anyone to pay attention has been so frustrating that I have sometimes wanted to bang my head on my desk.

The recent news about Jackson County Fire Rescue was just such a moment. Those who pay attention to such things have known for years that this problem was coming. The problem of our trained employees leaving for other places so they can better support their families is not new, and yet years have passed with no major effort to provide better pay so they can stay here. 

Nothing written here should be taken as a criticism of any person or group of people. My goal is to put the facts and my thoughts on them out there for my friends and neighbors to consider. I am an eternal optimist and I believe that we can reverse these alarming trends - and should have already reversed them - but time is growing short. I am not running for public office and have no plans to do so. I hope that this will be seen as what it is, an open letter to the people and leaders of Jackson County with thoughts and ideas from someone who just wants to help.

Here are some recommendations that I have after studying the numbers. Your ideas may be better than mine. It is time for us to start thinking and listening and - above all else - taking action.
  • Clerk of Courts Clayton O. Rooks should lead a full audit of county funding to tell us how much is coming in and where it is going. This would help our leaders see places from which money can be moved or cut to assure that our most important county services - Fire Rescue, Law Enforcement, etc. - are not only funded but improved. Reducing these services is not an option. This would also help us identify any financial improprieties.
  • County commissioners should consider an immediate moratorium on non-essential travel outside Jackson County by their employees. This money is needed to keep Fire Rescue running.
  • Work with Chipola College, Baptist College of Florida, Troy University, FSU, FAMU, UF and other institutions to provide real training so county employees can improve themselves. We can always get better and improving the skills of the people who work for us is a good way to help them get better and more efficient at their jobs.
  • Do not, under any circumstance, increase another tax or fee until our economic situation is turned around. Real people are suffering here. Median income is down. Our working age people are fleeing and taking their children with them. Use the money that we have to make things better. It can be done. Private businesses do it all day, everyday. 
  • Don't assume that every thought, criticism or idea is political. Most people here just want to see things get better. 
  • Work together. The county should work together with Sneads, Marianna, Graceville and other municipalities to find areas of agreement that all can support (and vice versa). Communities in specific parts of the county should work together. Malone, Campbellton and Graceville, for example, have Highway 2 in common. Perhaps they could work together to improve that corridor of the county? The same is true for the Historic Highway 90 Corridor that passes through Sneads, Grand Ridge, Marianna and Cottondale and the US 231 corridor that connects Campbellton, Jacob City, Cottondale, Alford and the Compass Lake area.
  • Clean up! Make our interstate exits the cleanest and prettiest in Florida. You never know who is going to come off that highway to look around while out scouting locations for a new business or industry.
  • Lower the entrance fees at Blue Springs back to $2 per person so local families - especially those with reduced incomes as a result of this situation - can afford to go.
  • Work to make it easy to do business in Jackson County. Reduce fees for startups. 
  • Find a way to fix our awful cell and internet service. Let's face the fact: If we want to have a 21st century economy, we have to provide the infrastructure to attract 21st century businesses. Large swaths of Jackson County have no cell phone service and substandard (or no) internet service. Hold the feet of our existing providers to the fire and seek out other companies willing to solve the problem at THEIR expense in exchange for a chance to make money here.
  • Invest in our young people. Seek out high school students here in Jackson County who want to major in business, tourism, engineering, law enforcement, fire rescue services, parks and recreation and more. Invest in them by helping with their college expenses in exchange for a commitment that they will return and work here for a set length of time. Provide them with internships and mentoring. If we can afford to help only one, that is one more than we can count on now.
  • Listen to local business owners. They can tell you their stumbling blocks to growing and hiring more people.
  • Seek out success stories in other places, not to duplicate but to learn how they created success. We have our own special place and want to keep it that way. We can always learn from others, though, about how they made their communities better places.
  • County and city administrators and elected officials should return calls and answer emails from constituents.
  • Finish projects that are on the drawing board. Get the Historic Highway 90 Corridor plan going. Washington and Holmes Counties are already ahead of us. We want to be a part of the success that they are already realizing.
  • Dream. Look for ways to do something good instead of searching out stumbling blocks.
  • Stop blaming others. Let's work together. We know that we need to. It means that some of our ideas will be pursued and some won't. That's fine. Movement is better than no movement.
  • Take advantage of our human resources. We have many people in Jackson County who have achieved remarkable things in their lives. Listen to the advice and suggestions that they can offer.
  • Improve our own corners. In other words, make our own neighborhoods better through elbow grease and cooperation. Not everything takes money to do. If we all improve our own neighborhoods, the whole county will improve.
  • Get involved. This is a message to citizens especially. Attend meetings. Offer advice. Run for office. I admire anyone willing to put their name out there. I appreciate the service of all of our current elected officials, just as I appreciated the service of those who served before them and will appreciate the service of our next round of leaders. It is the American way.
  • Care. We all have to care for each other and our communities. Churches, we need you now more than ever. Community organizations, we need you too. Individuals, you as well. Do everything you can to make things better.
I hope that at least someone out there will take the time to read through this long editorial and that it benefits you. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.

This was written as a "stream of thought" so please excuse me if I made any errors or typos.

Thank you.

Dale Cox
May 6, 2018



13 comments:

Mike Crutchfield said...

Excellent observations.

Unknown said...

Dale, I am originally from Chattahoochee but moved around the world during my career life, retired at 45 and living in NC. That being said, I see and have seen many small communities falter or go completely out of existence because of poor leadership and the apathy of the local population. Many blame politics, the economy, and still many blame businesses. The common thread that runs through the "declining of America" is not just one issue. As you pointed out in your section on how to fix, you identified many areas that need to be addressed. Politicians must be held accountable. Vote anyone out that does not want to lead or grow. Change is the only way out. One may not like it, but staying the course as it is or has been will not get you in any better shape economically or otherwise. Citizens must become involved in their communities. The apathy I see all over America is appalling. Where has our sense of pride in the community gone? Some would say that there is no use to "make better" because it will just go back to the way it was. Nonsense! Making "it" better is what everyone should be striving for. I would also say a full audit should be made of all politicians that have been in office over 3 terms. After 3 terms, politicians as well as CEO's tend to believe they are indispensable. Within that time they have become entrenched into the "back door" policies and funding that takes place in political and business circles. This is not a partisan phenomenon, it is the reality. The Florida Panhandle holds a soft spot in my heart no matter which county it is. I remember driving the back roads to bonfires. Grabbing a watermelon or peanuts from the farm. Good, clean fun was had by all....BUT hard work was what was expected and demanded and that is the way it needs to return to. I left the area in 1973, because of hard economic times, looking for a better life. I hope and pray that those that remain in the area get together and demand things change from their leaders. If nothing changes with them....Change Them. Clifford McLarty

questions about preseismic activity said...

Very well stated Dale. It's sad that Jackson County is struggling. It was once the county that all neighboring counties admired.

You did strike one point with me. Elected officials, those charged with overseeing the finances, goals and welfare of it's constituents, come in two forms. Either a public servant, dedicated to improving the lives of their constituents. Or a politician, those dedicated to improve their own lives. Maybe, citizens need to look at each of their elected officials, municipal, county, constitutional and school board and ask themselves, "is this person a public servant or politician?"

Strong fiscally sound leadership, with goals and dreams are required to have a good public servant. And good public service results in strong communities for all.

Just a thought, from a small town public servant.

Anonymous said...

Now this is the way to say something..obviously fair kind and humble ..and with the best interest of all

Unknown said...

First, I want to thank the author of this blog, Dale Cox, whom I have never met. However, I have read and enjoyed many of his articles published in the Jackson County Floridan, or on the internet. Nere we set with two accesses to the Interstate highway I10, and we only have a truck stop on one of them, why? We have a Mill Pond with a large mound next to it that is only partially commercialized, Why? We have one of two shortest rivers in the world with no development or commercial usage. Why? We have an old high school and block of prime property in the center of town unutilized or commercialized. Why? We have the best and purest natural water resource in the entire nation mainly untapped for commercial use. Why? We have an empty boy's school property that would make a beautiful addition to the community college, as a trades school. Why hasn't it happened? Ther's an airport with a runway that commercial aircraft could use underutilized, why? We have vacationers driving past Marianna on Highway 231 and I10 going to Panama City, Dothan, and other destinations than Marianna, why? I've only listed a few resources here; there are many more to consider. However, it will take the community as a hole to make it happen. Maybe we should select one item at a time to highlight and work on as a community project, then decide what could be done to commercialize the property. Form committees to get the job done. I'm sure there are many ideas out there, and this is only the first comment on the Blog. So let's hear what you have to say. No one is going to put you down for what you have to say.

Tony Edwards said...

Good job sir my hometown in South Carolina was just forwarded this as well if we don't have vision we will soon perish.

Jeannie nix said...

I agree. This county has went down. Some elected officials have done a lot of harm to jackson county. They all need to be wiped from their high horses.

Unknown said...

I really appreciate this article and Mr Cox for writing it. I have another suggestion. Mr Cox mentioned the the County needs the Churches to get involved. Well, we can all pray. Prayer is the foundation of our belief in GOD and His interaction with us, His children. It would be wonderful for us to get together and pray for the issues we have as a County and ask GOD to help us. When our founding Fathers were faced with fighting the British back in the War for our Independence, they were facing the largest, most powerful fighting force in the world at that time. Instead of giving up, they prayed, John Locke, wrote about it in an article and stated that when all else has been done, the only option available is to Appeal To Heaven. Maybe we should start there and watch what GOD will do today.

Anonymous said...

Someone who is willing to speak up for our county and the people who live here.I applaud every word you wrote.My only hope is each and every person in Jackson County reads this whether it be old or young.This my friends is not laughing matter.

William Keeley said...

One reason that the county is so poor is because those who run it WANT IT THAT WAY. They have stopped high paying companies from coming in. Maybe they are afraid if companies paid decent wages, that they would have to step up and do the same. The whole system there stinks and has stunk for many years. It cannot be reformed, but only REPLACED. Jackson County needs new people in charge, and a completely new charter. Then, and only then will others who are a not a part of the good ole boy netwrk will have a chance of getting anywhere. People need to get together and figure out how to make this happen, or else there will likely be no improvement.

Anonymous said...

An excellent article with some very good points to consider for all concerned. My initial thought is that a starting point is to place term limits on our county commissioners. This is not to hurt anyone, but as some writers have said, politicians and CEOs tend to think they are indispensable after two or more terms, therefore they worry about and work towards their own personal gain and not the betterment of the citizens of Jackson County. That is not the only thing we need to work on, but a major point of contention for me...

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your informative and insightful article. I'm from a suburb on the North shore of Lake Ponchartrain near New Orleans (a thriving community) thanks to a community which came together welcomed newcomers rolled up their sleeves collaborated and turned a rural pit stop into a cosmopolitan Mecca and is now the wealthiest Parish in Louisiana and continuing to grow and prosper. We relocated to Marianna in 2003. We were assured by our real estate agent and others that Jackson County was on the move! People were relocating in droves from South Florida, property values would climb jobs and infrastructure was taking off and set to boom..yada yada yada. It wasn't long after we moved that industry began to crumble here with businesses closing and or relocating. I've seen nothing here to indicate any of these things in fact just, the opposite: a steep decline is happening here and I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis as to why. I have a close friend who is a business owner in Marianna who will tell you the highest obstacle to a business growing (particularly if you are an "outsider" I.e. not "born and raised here" is the city of Marianna and the County Commissioner's. Unless a local family or friend of same is involved in particular interests it's take the slow track or forget it. The lack of support is breathtaking and so backward here. One example that might attract people would be the "farmers market. Rather than have a few pick up trucks back up to a pavilion and sell vegetables why not gain corporate sponsors and support and turn this into a Saturday morning event with rotating vendors offering fresh flowers, baked goods, artisan crafts, local musicians etc. This was done in Downtown Covington, Louisiana and it is an event visited by thousands each Saturday. Being from Louisiana I have seen by share of crooked politicians and the practice of patronage however Jackson County is right there with the worst I've witnessed in Louisiana. I would like to be optimistic but having been employed by the State here the same sort of patronage is practiced I am not hopeful. Qualified people with fresh new ideas experience and qualifications are overlooked in favor of friends and family. The Peter Principle is alive and well and executed perfectly here. Sad commentary.

Anonymous said...

I also believe this blog was very well written. I grew up in Marianna and I can remember when other surrounding towns and counties, looked at Marianna as THE place to be. I am one of those former residents that moved away, multiple times, but always came back, missing the family and beautiful landscape. The reasoning for moving multiple times, was that the economy, jobs, and pay scale, could not compare to the bigger cities. I had to move, just to be able to support myself and family. I still reside outside of Jackson County and wish I could move back. I look at the rental property or even looked at purchasing a home, but the high listing prices for properties do not support the hourly rate of pay. I am curious as to where the median income of $35-36k comes from? Is this the median household for two people? There are so many people that care about the community but at the same time, feel as if its just broken. Have the commissioners or tourist development, thought about trying to promote volunteers to clean up or promote the community? Maybe small town block parties or small festivals downtown? If business owners care about the community, they could be willing to participate for free. Have fundraisers, besides the outrages fundraisers from the schools that almost feels as if you are giving away half of your wages for the week. Growing up, we had car washes to raise money and other ideas. We had the key club, fbla, etc. from the schools to raise money. Why not the same thing but for the community. Ask for volunteers? Promote it by media, not just social media. Just my two cents! Keep up the great work Dale Cox.