Business Growth

While we agree with the governor that the number and types of incentives the State of Michigan offered through the MEDC had become too complex, we know that we need some smart, targeted incentives that will attract new and retain existing businesses.
 
The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce will engage in a broad range of issues that support business growth and development in the region, including Transformational Legislation to address large scale developments in Michigan, attracting new business to our region, understanding that we are in competition with other states and nations that provide incentives to attract new business.
 
We would like to see the MEDC provide a clear matrix/explanation of what job creation is and a review by the legislature of the effectiveness of its spending in relation to job growth.
 
We will also oppose any legislation to place a tax on services or shift the responsibility of collecting taxes from a municipality to the business owner.

• We support maintaining a Michigan State Police presence in Saginaw to help dramatically reduce crime and assist Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department and City of Saginaw Police Department. Crime reduction is critical to sustaining healthy business and its employees, and it is a factor in job retention and economic growth. 

• We support Transformational Brownfield Legislation that would help developers who are trying to put projects in areas typically too expensive to redevelop because of the high cost of Brownfield clean-up.    Developers in these areas, including urban cores like Saginaw, face extraordinary costs and, traditionally, developers have walked away or shelved the project. This legislation allows developers to capture a portion of taxes from new businesses that occupy the mixed use project.  The legislation limits those projects to those that are large scale (based on population) and truly transform a community.   The incentive would also be limited to a small number across the state each year.  Like Detroit and virtually every area of Michigan (rural communities are included), these large-scale “transformational projects” have not been undertaken because of the extraordinary costs associated with developing.

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Questions about policy statementments can be directed to Veronica Horn at 989-757-2113.