Have Rome and Floyd County lost their economic luster?
Over the years when Rome and Floyd County were discussed in economic development meetings, the most common response was “Rome is the best kept secret in Georgia.”
In recent years it seems we may have let maintaining the status quo lull our “best kept secret” strength into a position of weakness. That weakness has forced city officials to increase property taxes to meet the demand for services, an action that we view as a temporary fix to a long-term problem. Maintaining the status quo will ultimately force our County Commission, school boards and Cave Spring to make similar decisions. Without tax digest and sales tax growth governments are left with little choice but to raise property taxes or cut services. Taxpayers like neither. We are not criticizing city commissioners for their vote. We believe they did what they had to do. When sales tax revenues are down for now almost seven consecutive months all governments and citizens need to become concerned.
It is time for community leaders to begin earnest discussion of why Rome and Floyd County are being bypassed by Bartow and others communities across Georgia in manufacturing and economic development announcements. It has been a long dry spell for Rome in the growth of manufacturing jobs. Yes, the geographic proximity of I-75 to Bartow is an advantage that Floyd County does not enjoy. However Rome and Floyd offer a higher education advantage and health care system that no other Northwest Georgia community can boast.
Our leaders must come together soon to leverage these quality of life factors and renew that “Best Kept Secret” status.
We have announced local expansions and new job creation among local employers and we are proud of those. More recently we have had two call centers locate their operations here with estimates of more than 600 plus jobs when both are up to full speed. We are also very excited about the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College and the potential this venue brings to this community. Not far from the new tennis center is Berry Corporate Square and Technology Parkway. This area has been primed for development for over a decade and it is time we fill that land.
Rome is blessed to have the best medical community in Northwest Georgia. Harbin Clinic, Floyd Medical Center, Redmond Regional Medical Center and other independent practices support our economy more than most realize. The Medical College of Georgia saw the strength of Rome and awarded it with a satellite campus to educate its third and fourth year medical students. Our medical community recently brought us the state-of-the-art Harbin Clinic Cancer Center. The influence used to bring this infrastructure to Rome should again be exercised to bring in biotechnology firms to complement it.
Berry College, Shorter University, Georgia Highlands College and Georgia Northwestern Technical College, along with our K12 schools, create a world-class workforce.
Let’s also note that the Greater Rome area offers a very good quality of life for families and should be experiencing strong growth. Rather than the US Census Bureau report that said our population growth is stagnant.
City Commissioner Craig McDaniel has led the call for increased discussion on what we must do if we want to change the status quo. The commissioner says this is not about personalities but rather about job creation and the future of our children and grand children.
We agree with Commissioner McDaniel and think this discussion should leverage our assets and talents to increase our economic strength. Rome and Floyd County offer an educated workforce, great healthcare, abundant outdoor activities and recreation, Rome Tennis Center at Berry College, and the Rome Braves among many others.
“We hope we don’t hold on so tight to the status quo that we lose sight of the future,” McDaniel said.
Let’s get started and reject the status quo and elevate Rome and Floyd County from Georgia’s best-kept secret to Georgia’s best community for families to raise children and businesses to thrive.