In Your Corner

According to every major indicator Martin County’s economy is continuing to contract. Unemployment is up, small businesses are failing, sales and gasoline tax receipts are down - even tourist traffic and fuel sales at Witham Field are down. The total population may have also decreased since K-12 student counts, an early indicator, are below estimates for two straight years. In the face of this we appreciate the efforts of a local car dealer whose advertising campaign states that: “we are not going to participate in the current recession”. He correctly addresses one of the main problems with an economic downturn - the mindset of the population.

However, we also note that there are those among us that are either misinformed or just not adequately concerned about our County’s economic situation. The following was widely circulated in a recent Martin County based e-newsletter: “A recently published report notes that property values statewide are expected to decline 12.9% this year… However, in Martin County – the county with tougher standards - the expected decline in property values will be only 4.4%.” This appears to be incorrect in the extreme. The respected Florida Association of Counties (FAC) recently states: “Florida property values are 12 percent lower this year than state economists estimated last year… this change in property values will make it very hard … to meet the budgetary goals set just a few weeks ago….” Translation: this is an ADDITIONAL 12% reduction this year from the estimate that had ALREADY been significantly reduced.

We also note from FAC’s daily “news clips” that other “counties with tougher standards” are NOT among those with the least decline in property values, but among the highest. Collier and Sarasota, counties that are usually compared to Martin because of their high impact fees (Collier and Sarasota counties are #1 and #2 – Martin is 8 th, but will be changing) and strict controls on growth have lost 23% and 24% respectively this year. Martin County is looking at a 2009 reduction of 20% and the forecast for 2010 is another 9 – 14% decline. This was presented at the February 4 th County Budget Workshop. (see: http://martin.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=688 )

We are in no way advocating unbridled growth, but we do believe that to maintain the lifestyle that makes Martin County a wonderful place to live requires a realistic approach to the current situation. Continuing to cling to the tactics and “taxes” put in place to “keep the hordes away” are not helpful when the County is officially trying to maintain/expand employment and lure new “green” businesses and their high paying jobs. According to William H. Fruth, a noted economist that performed an extensive study of Martin County last year: “… the cause of (Martin County’s previous) growth, principally retirement age individuals relocating to (the) county as opposed to internal industrial growth, is causing the economy to be weak in quality. The quality of an economy is determined by what people earn … and the average wage in the county ranked only 306 th … among (the 363 recognized) US metropolitan areas, one of the lowest in the nation… and has declined relative to the national average almost every year since 1988.”

When the average County income is in the $30,000 range and a large percentage of local government workers are making $70,000 - $100,000 or more, the economy must be strengthened and changes made for the situation to become sustainable. The most straightforward way to do this is to import high tech, high paying jobs - which must be enticed to move to the area – along with reduced government spending.