Do you know what economic development is?

Nassau County Economic Development
Karen Schexnayder
Director of Marketing
May 19, 2016 2:37 p.m.

When I was interviewed for my job as director of marketing for the Nassau County Economic Development Board, I was asked, “Do you know what economic development is?” I answered, “of course”. Having worked in the land development and real estate industry for eight years, I had, like most people, my vision of economic development, which equated to development.

Two years later, my perception has changed. What I never envisioned two years ago is how economic development truly impacts the lives of everyone within a community. Nassau County has just over 77,000 residents and while we’ll never get everyone to agree about development, I would hope and encourage folks to open their minds to what economic development truly is.

I believe it is important to differentiate ‘development’ from ‘economic development’. When the word development is used it conjures images of master-planned communities, office parks or a new school. Economic development means much more than ‘development’.
Each and every day the residents of Nassau County participate in some form of economic development. Any time you purchase something at the grocery store, buy a coffee at Starbucks or frequent a local retailer, you are contributing to economic development. Any time you purchase these items you pay a local sales tax, which in turn, is income to the county to operate. If you own a home or property you contribute to economic development in the form of property or ad valorem taxes. Where do these funds go? They are used to improve our education system, enhance the efforts of our first responders and augment our infrastructure.

The focus of local and state governments is to improve our standard of living by encouraging the creation of jobs, supporting innovation and new ideas, helping to strengthen the wealth of its residents, all which contribute to our overall quality of life.

So what is the Nassau County Economic Development Board (NCEDB) and how does it fit into the picture? The NCEDB is a private-publicly funded partnership operating as a 501(c)3 nonprofit comprised of three staff and 28 volunteer board members. There are several components to traditional economic development – business retention and expansion, business recruitment, entrepreneurship and workforce development.
The NCEDB works hard to keep our existing businesses in Nassau County. We conduct business retention surveys throughout the year and determine how we can be of service. Those services can be facilitating foreign trade connections, locating a new, larger facility or quite simply, convincing them to stay. Do other communities try to recruit Nassau County businesses to move to their county? Absolutely. It is vital to our county’s economic health to keep our business community thriving.

We also market Nassau County as a place to do business, recruiting companies to relocate or open a facility in Nassau County. Those businesses can be a small, privately-owned tech venture, medium-sized logistics firm or a large international manufacturer.
Since 2013, the NCEDB has maintained a partnership with the Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida (SBDC at UNF), to allow for a full-time representative to guide residents wishing to open a business through the start-up process and to provide assistance for small business owners looking to grow and expand. Since 2013, this partnership has resulted in 230 new and retained jobs for Nassau Count, saw the creation of 18 new business startups and generated $12.5 million in capital formation.

Keeping our existing businesses thriving and attracting new companies to Nassau County, relies heavily on a stable, well-trained workforce. While the training required will vary by industry, it is incumbent upon us to keep the dialogue open between the business community and our local educators – both the school district and FSCJ – to ensure the current workforce has the skills necessary to compete for jobs and to prepare our students for their future careers.

Why do economic development organizations throughout the region, state and nation work hard each day to do what we do? Here’s why. Of the working-age residents in Nassau County, 59.5 percent leave the county every day for work.* A mom working in Jacksonville is more likely to enroll her child in daycare closer to her office, allowing her more time with her child during the commute and in the event of an emergency she is closer to her child’s daycare. That same mom may be in the market for a new car. Instead of shopping at car dealer in Nassau County, she’ll stop at one by her office in Jacksonville. Why is this scenario important? More than 90 percent of Nassau County’s businesses are small businesses and are negatively affected by the above example. Back to my scenario earlier how residents participate in economic development, the county and schools, thus its citizens benefit when local businesses and merchants are profitable. Every house sold contributes to economic development. Every time you frequent a local restaurant you engage in economic development. You are supporting your local businesses, neighbors and community. Daily transactions contribute to our county’s fiscal sustainability, which means increased funds for education, additional monies for infrastructure and first responders and yes, even the ability for our county’s leaders to save for a rainy day.

Based on findings by the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, 11.7 percent of all Nassau County residents and 18.1 percent of those under the age of 18, fall within the level of poverty. The magnitude of this is not lost on me and my co-workers. Currently our unemployment rate stands at 4.8 percent. I had a meeting recently at a local restaurant and overhead a waitress saying that she’s a single mother, works two jobs and wishes she could find employment that offers benefits. She and others like her are why we do what we do. Our hope is that by recruiting companies who bring more jobs and more importantly, high-wage jobs, to our community, we can reduce poverty figures significantly and offer career opportunities for those who seek them.

While development can be synonymous with economic development, economic development in its truest sense is about the people, not the buildings.

*Following publication of this article Ms. Shexnayder notified the Fernandina Observer that this figure has risen to 65.7 percent in just the last year.