Macon’s future hinges on ‘increasingly enlightened’ community, mayor says (Atlanta: 2014, colleges)
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I would love to see Macon and Atlanta connected by commuter rail one day, it would be a huge boon for the region and truly make Macon a viable option for people to commute to work in Atlanta.
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Reichert delivered his latest State of the Community address at the at the Edgar H. Wilson Convention Center. The event, hosted by the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, was attended by several hundred government, business, education and community leaders.
“The state of our community in 2017 is increasingly enlightened,” Reichert said. “We are still dynamic and we are still increasingly confident, but now we’re becoming increasingly aware of one simple truth: We’re in competition with other communities throughout the Southeast, across the nation and around the world for jobs, industry, population growth and tax base. We’re realizing if we’re going to compete we must have an attractive community.”
A key to Macon-Bibb’s future is attracting the millennial workforce. According to an Atlanta Regional Commission report, Macon is on the southern edge of a super-region projected to grow by 70 percent by 2050. The trend is more people moving inside urban cores across the world, Reichert said.
“The millennial generation has the technical skills and computer programing capabilities not only to fill the existing jobs, but also to establish the entrepreneurial atmosphere in which new jobs are born,” he said. “We must attract tomorrows talented workforce to our community and we can. However that will take intentional and dedicated efforts.”
The county’s government is poised to meet the demands of the future, but there have been some bumps in the road. The previous fiscal year’s revenues were $8 million lower than expenses, even though there are about 300 fewer Macon-Bibb employees than there were prior to consolidation in 2014.
“We’re continuing working hard to make ends meet,” Reichert said.
Reichert said he’s noticed an “enlightened self-interest” among numerous organizations, agencies and other members of the community. That’s evident through the efforts of local colleges, health care industry, nonprofits and others. Cultural events such as Bragg Jam and Macon Pops and initiatives like the Eisenhower Parkway business improvement district are positives for the city-county, Reichert said.
I would love to see Macon and Atlanta connected by commuter rail one day, it would be a huge boon for the region and truly make Macon a viable option for people to commute to work in Atlanta.
That would be a Great thing, but I have Yet to hear a clear focus on Improving the MTA or public Transit through out the city.. That should be their key focus especially under Consolidated Government but haven't heard a peep..