This caught my eye: General Fund Resources & Uses Forecast
It starts out as an overview of economic conditions facing Dunwoody and a perspective on approaches to keeping the city financially solvent consistently as the economy fluctuates.
This quote from page 6 is worth pondering:
We benefit from a more educated work force. The unemployment rate for those without post-secondary degrees is more than double those with post-secondary degrees. Without doubt, it is my opinion our strongest weapon for fiscal resiliency is ensuring our labor market is trained and ready for growth while attracting those businesses that will hire our labor.
No one will argue against the benefit of having large companies relocate to Dunwoody. Large corporations provide a lot of jobs and a lot of benefits. But a large portion of the city's business community is in small businesses and entrepreneurs - the things that create large businesses. If our citizens are smart enough to be hired, are they not smart enough to create jobs as well? If we are smart enough to attract corporations, are we not smart enough to create home-grown corporations inside our borders? There is no mention of the impact of the small business community in Dunwoody in this report, and nothing about intentions to create businesses at home, rather than just attract them from outside.
The economic growth we saw in the 2000s came from small businesses, not large corporations. After an economic decline, like our recent recession, the small businesses were the first to recover. Small businesses are a key indicator in economic recovery after a decline.
Does City Hall recognize this? If so, where is that incorporated into the financial recommendations? If not - why?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........