I cannot explain to all of you how good and important this latest information is to this city! For now, here is the announcement. Later I will post some information about WHAT this means for our city. Enjoy!
MEDIA ADVISORY: Spring Hill to Receive Award as Tennessee’s Most Business-Friendly City
For March 7, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2007
CONTACT: Nicole Williams
(615) 383-6431 or editor@tennesseepolicy.org
WHEN: Wednesday, March 7, 2007
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
WHERE: Spring Hill City Hall
199 Town Center Parkway
Spring Hill, TN 37174
WHO: Danny M. Leverette, Mayor, City of Spring Hill
Drew Johnson, President, Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Drew Ruble, Editor, Business Tennessee magazine
WHAT: Spring Hill has been named the Most Business-Friendly City in Tennessee for 2007 by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, and Drew Ruble, editor of Business Tennessee magazine, will present the award to Spring Hill Mayor Danny Leverette , who will accept the award on behalf of the City of Spring Hill.
WHY: The March edition of Business Tennessee will feature the Tennessee Center for Policy Research’s second annual ranking of the business climate of Tennessee ’s 50 largest cities. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research based the ranking of city business-friendliness on four categories essential to encouraging business success and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit: Business Tax Burden, Economic Vitality, Community Allure and Strategic Location. When the Tennessee Center for Policy Research compiled the rankings, Spring Hill achieved the best overall score, making it Tennessee ’s Most Business-Friendly City for 2007. The City of Spring Hill scored 93.98 out of a possible 100 percent on all counts of business-friendliness.
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions. Visit TCPR online at: www.tennesseepolicy.org.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Media Advisory...and a good one!
Posted by Gorilla in the Corner at 8:42 AM
Labels: Miscellaneous
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is a series of personal opinions and is not meant to reflect an official position by the City of Spring Hill.
9 comments:
Definately good news for the EDC and the incoming BOMA. This will open some doors for the city.
MD
This is very good news and another reason why Spring Hill city officials should be able to go out and actively look for new businesses to relocate their headquarters to our city. We can aim pretty high. I have said all along Spring Hill is a great place to live and work and could be as good or better than any other city near us. This is excellent!
Let's not forget that good ole Danny did not do this by himself. Way to go to the alderman that were involved in supporting decisions regarding businesses, esp Mr. Duda.
anon. @ 23:41
I don't know whether you attended the news conference today, I did. I was quite impressed with how humble Mayor Leverette was in accepting the award of "Tennesse's Most Business Friendly City."
In fact, Mayor Leverette specifically stated, "becoming Tennessee's Most Friendly City is a collective effort of many" and he went on to thank the:
Board of Mayor & Alderman
City Administrator
City employee's
Spring Hill Planning Commission
Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce
Spring Hill EDC
The community organizations of:
Lions Club
Rotary Club
Kiwanis Club
Senior Citizens
Spring Hill Arts Center
and the relationships with Maury & Williamson Counties.
The point I am making is "good ole Mayor Leverette" humbly spreads the success.
Humble...The word fits Danny perfectly. Nice and short and not too hard to say.
lol
Actually, it is very humble. Danny still has to run for office in two years and he could have pulled a Bill Clinton and used it as a campaign moment to brag on himself. He chose the high road which shows humility and a desire to work together to accomplish a greater good for Spring Hill. God Bless you, Danny. This is an example of real leadership. Congratulations.
Only a few could take this wonderful accomplishment for our city and spin it negatively:
'Friendly' has different meanings
As a 10-year resident of Spring Hill, I have experienced most of the rapid growth of what used to be a sleepy rural town. I have seen this city move from a chaotic city administration full of waste and mismanagement to one of solid, strong leadership, based on efficient business practices, resulting in fiscal stability that allowed the city to operate on a "cash as you go" basis.
However, with the death of (former Mayor) Ray Williams, the city of Spring Hill has steadily reverted back to waste and "Dr Pepper" form of operation. By Dr Pepper, I refer to the current advertisement that states "I want it all, and I want it right now." The label "Most Business-Friendly City in Tennessee" has those residents of Spring Hill who are idealistic puffing out their chests and taking pride in an empty, misleading award. The criteria for this award has nothing to do with friendliness. Yes, Spring Hill has a low business tax, but now that the new administration has gotten the positive press from this award, I am sure they will increase the business tax.
As for economic vitality, remember the Dr Pepper mentality. Our newcomers, for the most part, are ready to spend, spend, spend whether they have the money or not. Credit is available to everyone today. Don't forget, foreclosures are at an all-time high.
Community allure must be based on the rapid population growth. However, that growth is about to flatten. A recent survey of available homes in Spring Hill showed 511 homes for sale (about 5 percent of the homes existing in Spring Hill), and most of those have never been lived in.
The criterion that does seem to appropriately apply to Spring Hill is strategic location. We are in an excellent location — south of Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville. Spring Hill draws homebuyers who cannot afford residences in those communities, but Spring Hill is still close enough for them to commute for employment. Businesses follow rooftops. Spring Hill has a lot of rooftops. However, the price of homes in Spring Hill have risen over the past two years to the point that most first-time homebuyers can no longer afford a home in Spring Hill.
"Friendly" is the word that confuses me most in this award. Anyone who attends Spring Hill Planning Commission and Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings knows that those two governing bodies are anything but friendly to business. Just ask KFC, Applebee's, Burger King, Blue Island Family Restaurant, Keller Williams Realty, Daily Stores or Starbucks if they were treated in a friendly way when they submitted plans to locate or remodel in Spring Hill. One national fast-food chain has stated they will not come to Spring Hill because of the way the city treats new businesses.
Why are the Tractor Supply store in Thompson's Station and Wal-Mart making plans to locate north of Spring Hill, where population is much more sparse?
The sales tax revenue that can be derived from businesses in Spring Hill is the logical source of revenue for the city to avoid re-establishment of property taxes to support the Dr Pepper mentality. However, unless the leaders of Spring Hill change their approach to dealing with new businesses, those who want it all and want it right now are going to have to go further into debt to pay their property taxes.
Those who sit back and wish for positive change are going to have to get out and vote on April 12 to get aldermen who will stand up to the unrealistic Dr Pepper mentality and start concentrating on logical necessities of Spring Hill. The Dr Pepper voters will get out and vote, I assure you. The price for having it all, and right now, is just too great. It is not too late, but someone is going to have to do the same thing Ray Williams did in 1999: stop the waste and run the city as an efficient business.
Spring Hill, the "Most Business-Friendly City in Tennessee"? I guess that depends on the criteria and whom you ask.
Charlie Schoenbrodt
Spring Hill
Blah, blah, blah....sour grapes!
I wonder if Charlie understands that this article comes across as a sorry loser to his Mayoral campaign. Do you think Spring Hill would have been awarded this if he was Mayor?
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