A vote to renew economic development a vote toward future

In addition to choosing our U.S. President on November 8, Sidney voters will determine the direction of our community’s future growth.

The Committee to Renew the Sidney Economic Development Program and the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce encourages Sidney voters to approve a ballot measure that would continue allocating a portion of the city’s existing sales tax to the city’s economic development program, also known as the LB840 program, to create new jobs, retain existing businesses, and expand the tax base for another 10 years.

Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Denise Wilkinson, said the tax has already been approved, so a “yes” vote does not create a new tax. The vote would simply continue allocating the tax funds to economic development as it has been for the past 20 years.

“Without the funding to operate and provide all the assistance that we do to businesses, our community would not have experienced the close to $250 million in new investments that it has experienced in the last several years,” Wilkinson said. “Our future would be much dimmer without these funds.”

LB840 authorizes Nebraska cities to collect and appropriate local sales tax dollars for economic development, if approved by local voters. Nearly 70 cities in Nebraska have approved such funds.

The Committee to Renew the Sidney Economic Development Program would like Sidney to remain among those Nebraska cities that are taking active steps toward growth and development.

Greg Huck, Cheyenne County Chamber board bember and member of the Committee to Renew the Sidney Economic Development Program said this is a tool that other communities have and are using and are successful with. Without it, he said, we are at an even greater disadvantage to attract new businesses to the community or retain businesses that we do have.

In the past, Huck said the Economic Development/LB840 funds have given our community the resources to grow the population, improve the community and create jobs.

“The best predictor of the future is what has happened in the past,” Huck said. “We know that the City of Sidney/Cheyenne County Economic Development Partnership has been very instrumental in helping create and maintain jobs in our community.”

For more information about the City of Sidney Economic Development Program, please visit the City of Sidney web site at http://www.cityofsidney.org or call the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce at 308-254-5851.

Subscribe to the Sidney Sun-Telegraph to read the rest of the story.

(308) 254-2818

817 12th Ave. Sidney, NE 69162

http://www.suntelegraph.com/subscribe