The Chattanooga Area Chamber is a member-driven organization which is also the job creation agent for the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County. My mandate in leading public affairs is to serve the needs of the Chamber’s member-investors while also advocating for public policies designed to accelerate economic growth in our region. Both of these activities fall under the Chamber’s broad mission of creating jobs and wealth in our community.
In real terms, the Public Affairs Department advocates for public policies which are beneficial to member-investors while ensuring that our region provides a friendly environment for existing business expansion/retention and new business recruitment.
As a Chamber member-investor, we are a ready resource for you. We can help you research legislative and regulatory issues, as well as provide expert advice on the most effective courses of action. We can also help you understand which public officials to approach and how to position your issue.
Even when you are not actively engaged on a public policy issue, we are monitoring legislative activity at the local, state and federal level, so that we can provide you with a summary of what’s happening in our Legislative Alerts and Weekly Email. These information services save you time while keeping you informed.
The Chamber also acts as a megaphone that expresses the needs of local business leaders as a united voice – a voice that is very hard for elected officials to ignore. Through our Public Policy Committee, our volunteer leadership sets the agenda and keeps us focused on common ground business issues. The goal is to represent our member-investors on issues of broad consensus. When member-investors do not have a united opinion or require additional information, we assess their position through surveys and seek to build consensus.
Members-investors also benefit from the strong working relationships built with leaders at every level of government from City Hall to the Halls of Congress. The Chamber has been honored to host visits from the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Education.
Winning public policy strategies represent a team effort. Members are best served when they collectively engage on those issues that have the most impact on their companies. By using the right mix of timing, issue identification and proactive advocacy, we’ve been very successful in achieving the best solutions.
Examples of successes and ongoing initiatives include:
1. Changes to local ordinances that ease certain construction restrictions. These changes represent an ongoing effort to maintain high community standards while removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations. For example, by working with the City Council to adjust one ordinance, the Chamber helped a project providing 800 new jobs in Chattanooga to be completed ahead of schedule and allow for additional expansion.
2. Preventing business computer software from being subject to property taxation. When state administrators considered applying property tax to computer software, we represented our member-investors who stood to lose millions of dollars. We led efforts to pass legislation which prevented this regulatory change.
3. Opposing a proposed landfill in South Chattanooga near downtown. This landfill would have been a health and safety hazard in an area still recovering from past environmental issues. Additionally, the area consists of residential neighborhoods and light commercial activities. The Chamber’s advocacy on this issue helped pave the way for using the property for a more economically advantageous use.
4. Reforming Tennessee’s business tax incentive structure for new and expanding companies. By working with the General Assembly and our statewide partners, the Chamber led efforts to create more flexible incentives that help existing companies expand, while giving Tennessee better tools for recruiting new business.
5.Working with a coalition to defeat legislation that would have established a state minimum wage in Tennessee. Establishing a state minimum wage not only injures small businesses, it sends the wrong message about Tennessee’s business climate.
6. Advocating for the inclusion of critical transportation projects in the Tennessee Department of Transportation budget. These projects include improved access to Enterprise South Industrial Park, as well as a number of others designed to support strong business and residential growth.
7. Partnering with legislators and other business groups to improve education funding for Hamilton County from the state. In 2007, Tennessee changed the outdated Basic Education Program formula, and Hamilton County is receiving a more fair and equitable portion of state education dollars.
