Position Statement on Massachusetts Business Development

By CJ Ferry

This position statement was developed to supply the Associated Industries of Massachusetts with my positions on the Economic status in Massachusetts.

Q: Who or what are the major economic drivers in your district?

The major economic drivers in Fall River are small business, health care and social services. Our primary employer is the City of Fall River where many of our displaced workers attempt to get jobs within the City.
Our office of economic development has been extremely ineffective at attracting new businesses and jobs to the Fall River area, as the city is economically depressed, has lost 5 + 7 major employers and industries in the past seven years and fees in Fall River are increasing on a regular basis, with new fees being created to meet budgetary needs. All of which make Fall River unattractive to new business and industry.
Fall River has a great deal of unused industrial space and many empty and vacant storefronts all of which could be utilized by any industry at lower costs than in the Greater Boston or route 128 areas.
The ease of access to Fall River is an additional economic benefit that can also be utilized to attract new business and industry. Fall River has two highways that interest, Routes 195 and 24.
Lastly, Fall River has a research park occupied by UMass Dartmouth and with the increasing number of post-secondary schools and programs, Fall River has access to some of the best educational and research facilities.

Q: Where do the majority of people in your district work? Currently over 3,200 people are employed by our local hospitals, 1,700 people are employed by other health care industry providers, 2,800 people are employed in some form of manufacturing, 1,600 in the hospitality industry, 1,300 in banking, 1,100 in insurance / finance and 1,000 in Social Service. The city currently has approximately 7% unemployment according to those enrolled in unemployment benefits. 17.1% of the population is below poverty levels with a median income of $29,014.

COST CONTROL: Q: Do you think that Massachusetts is a high cost environment to work and live? What are the issues that business leaders and employees are talking about in your district?

The current tax structure and varied fees across the state are primary deterrents to attracting business and expansion of those businesses already located within the Commonwealth.
The uncontrolled spending on Beacon Hill and the expectation that businesses will continue to foot the bill is ridiculous and counter productive to business, business expansion and attraction of industry to the Commonwealth.
The current one billion dollar budget deficit is indicative of the financial mismanagement of our administration and General Court. Further, the expectation that increasing taxes and fees will solve the problem is foolish. As the Commonwealth continues to increase taxes and fees, business needs to do continuous financial assessment to determine at which point it makes more sense to leave.

Q: How can the Commonwealth promote our economic strengths and simultaneously encourage broad based investment and job growth?

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has many research and development facilities and corporation as well as some of the greatest schools available in the country. The Commonwealth has many economic incentives for new business and business expansion at the State and local levels. Wages in many parts of the State, especially Fall River are lower than elsewhere in the State and some parts of the Country.
To encourage businesses to locate and expand here in Massachusetts we need to control our State Budget, decrease the cost of doing business by decreasing fees, moderating taxes and controlling the increasing costs of Worker's compensation, UI taxes and controlling pre-profit taxation. Addressing and modifying many of these unfair business practices and expenses by the Commonwealth and the local governments may increase the appeal of Massachusetts.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF DOING BUSINESS IN MASSACHUSETTS:

Q: What do you think makes your district and the Commonwealth a great place to do business and live? How do we build on those successes? What are the impediments to economic growth and how do we address those challenges?

The Southeastern Massachusetts region is an historic area of our Commonwealth, as is most of Massachusetts. The area offers access to seaports, major highways, museums, tourist attractions and is centrally located close to two major airports, T.F. Green in Warwick, RI and Logan International Airport is Boston, MA. The region, more especially Fall River, has a tremendous potential to blossom into a hub of research, industry and business with the proper care and cultivation.
Fall River has been making tremendous strides to leave its historical background as a major textile production based economy to an economy that is diversified and has gone into health care, social service, hospitality and tourism, finance and now arts and film.
We can build on these successes by repairing and expanding the infrastructure of Fall River with the addition of Commuter Rail Service, establishment of an economic development zone or research and development zone and an arts district. By creating various economic and tax incentives to businesses and industry in areas such as Fall River, we can and will attract new business and industry.
New business, expanding businesses and new industries mean increased revenues for the state, even if the fees, taxes and other cost to business are decreased. This success and development will make everyone in the Commonwealth prosper, not only the average citizen, but also business and the State.
The Commonwealth needs a state wide package that improves upon the infrastructure of roadways, educational systems, public transportation and employment development to make Massachusetts a better place to live and work. Local TIF packages only help out a small amount to most major businesses.
Legislators need to work in conjunction with businesses, their local Chambers of Commerce and local cities and towns to develop a detailed action plan that works.

ON THE HORIZON

Q: In your discussions with business leaders in your district what are they most worried about?

A major concern right now in Fall River is the new CSO fee that has been recently added to all local property owners and businesses. This fee for businesses such as Stop & Shop, Wal*Mart and Shaw's can be as much as $20,000 annually and for some businesses even more. This new fee actually has some businesses debating leaving Fall River.
A second concern for almost all businesses is the current national economic situation and the tightening of credit lines, the difficulty in obtaining new credit lines, and in some cases the absence of any new funding sources for temporary short term loans.
At a recent after hours meeting of the Fall River Chamber of Commerce many business leaders were vocalizing concerns over the potential increase in taxes and fees related to the one billion dollar hole in the State's budget and many felt, justifiably, that business would foot the bill.
If our House and Senate can not balance a budget and consistently tax to fund their irresponsible spending, Massachusetts business will suffer.