Bob Buckhorn Economic Plan

What immediately struck me about Bob Buckhorn's economic plan is the creation of the position of Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity. The position will oversee an economic task force of business and community leaders. Regulatory agencies and the Tampa Convention Center will be under the Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity. Whoever holds this position will weld great power in the City of Tampa.

Another concern is if the Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity isn't structed properly it could create a bureaucratic nightmare. The appointed Deputy Mayor needs to be able to listen to different opinions and work well with others. A power freak is the last person needed for the position.

Buckhorn wants New Urbanism development in Tampa. I am not sure of Buckhorn wants with New Urbanism. The concept is intriguing.

The term has been associated with walkable communities with a center hub. These communities tend to have some with of rail transportation at the center hub. These communities are structured with work and living space separated but within walking distance. I am not sure how Buckhorn will create such communities with the years of over-development in Tampa.

Buckhorn is taking a page out of the Jeb Bush playbook.

His administration will create incentive packages to target high tech industries identified by the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Bob will take whatever steps are necessary to attract businesses to Tampa.

Companies come to places with high skill workers, good schools and communities their employees want to live in. Seattle, Washington and Palo Alto, California are so competitive companies actively recruit employees away from other companies. Seattle and Palo Alto are near major universities, have start up and financial sector businesses, and a high standard of living. It will take more than tax incentives to draw major companies to Tampa.

Buckhorn addresses the housing crisis.

The question of affordable housing for first-time homebuyers and the rehabilitation of existing homes is a priority for a Buckhorn Administration. Together with our lending partners, our housing initiative will build a program modeled after the successful Challenge Fund.

The Challenge Fund has kept people from being evicted from their homes. It has faced cuts during the past decade. Creating a local version of the Challenge Fund is good policy. Where Buckhorn will get funding is a serious question. The fact that Buckhorn is addressing the housing crisis is a good start.

Environmentalists will welcome this proposal.

Strategically using federal and state Brownfields redevelopment programs to redevelop areas of the City damaged by past pollution;

The Brownsfield program is part of the EPA. The EPA provides grants to clean up polluted land. The program also has the potential to create jobs for Tampa residents involved in any future clean up projects.

Buckhorn will create the position of Director of Protocol, International Trade and Commerce. The duties of the position.

* To reenergize the partnership of TIA, the Port of Tampa, the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce to develop and expand our regional international trade efforts;

* Work to attract and identify locations for foreign consulates;

* Work with the Tampa Port Authority and the Florida Ports Council to expand the Port of Tampa’s infrastructure in order to allow the Port to actively pursue significant container business;

* Work more closely with the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development and Enterprise Florida to participate in statewide international trade initiatives;

* Aggressively target, pursue and schedule trade missions led by the Mayor and accompanied by regional partners and local Tampa Bay businesses;

* Assist the new director of Tampa International Airport (TIA) in pursuing more international flights for TIA.

Good luck to the Democrat Buckhorn trying to get help from the partisan Gov. Rick Scott on tourism or anything else for that matter. Pursuing foreign trade and foreign consulates is a good idea. The jury is out on how successful it will be The Tampa Chamber of Commerce will just lobby Buckhorn for business tax incentives every chance they get without providing any real help attracting businesses.

Buckhorn proposes to bring businesses to Nebraska Avenue. The area gets enough traffic to attract business. The problem is Nebraska Avenue has a bad reputation for crime. Much of it earned.

A really interesting idea is creating the online One-Stop Licensing Program.

As Mayor, Bob Buckhorn will establish a “One-Stop Licensing Program,” available in person and on-line. The One-Stop Licensing Program will streamline the licensing process, providing business owners with a complete list of all licenses and permits required by the City and providing assistance in obtaining the licenses and permits applicable to their business. In addition, the One-Stop Licensing Program will streamline the multiple layers of business regulation by acting as a resource for City businesses to identify and interact with the appropriate County and the State regulators.

Using the internet to cut through red tape is an excellent idea.

Buckhorn has two more policy papers which I will try to get to. Agree or disagree with Buckhorn, it is nice to see thought was given on economic issues. Buckhorn deserves credit for putting his policy positions online.