Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce

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A Development Vision for Central Indiana
 

A regional vision for economic prosperity in central Indiana must be established to guide policymakers and business leaders in making central Indiana a more attractive place to locate and/or expand business and job growth. Elements of that vision should include:

  • Balance among regional, inner city and "mid-city" redevelopment Thoughtful and reasonable approaches to land-use planning, transportation and infrastructure planning Cooperation between business and government sectors Preference toward private investment with government support
  • Municipal government cooperation region-wide and across boundaries

The Greater Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce realizes that the nine-county area in central Indiana must work together as a region to capitalize on the strengths that are available through economic development. It is not regional government, but regional governance, that allows us to collectively think about mechanisms for communicating, coordinating and promoting the central Indiana region.

With demands from consumers for improved efficiency and delivery of high quality services at lower cost, local units of government face mounting pressure to provide more services without raising taxes. Meanwhile, businesses search for areas of the county with the most reasonable cost of doing business, and where government imposes the fewest number of regulatory and bureaucratic roadblocks.

An adequate workforce is also a must. When a company expands or relocates into the central Indiana region, which side of an imaginary county line it settles on is irrelevant; as long as the site and its amenities are adequate, costs are reasonable and an ample supply of workers is available.

Imaginary county lines do become relevant when they stand as barriers to the provision of services, or unnecessarily add to the cost of services. Regionalism is not about making all local units of government indistinguishable or promoting unified government in the nine-county region, but it does seek to find the most logical and efficient unit for planning and delivering services for the region’s customers.

The Chamber believes that opportunity exists for the nine-county region to meet the competitive challenge of other regions head-on. We want businesses to locate here by creating an environment that maximizes the strengths of the region, and minimizes its weaknesses. We can then establish standards by which all regions compete for economic growth and improved quality of life.

What the Greater Indianapolis Chamber is doing:

  • The Chamber actively participates in meetings that address regional issues. The Chamber supports the formation of a regional plan being developed by the Indiana Economic Development Council. The Chamber was the driving force behind MAGIC (Metropolitan Association Greater Indianapolis Communities), an organization that moved the nine-county area to begin thinking regionally.
  • The Chamber supports the creation of a Regional Transit Alliance (RTA) and have testified before the City-County Council in support of RTA's passage

What YOU can do:

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Want more?  Learn about other issues dealing with Economic Development.

 

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