Previously, we asked why the county's own
Economic Development web site had incorrect or dated information.
Not saying there's any correlation between that and an updated site, now found as
YesMontgomeryVA (with the old link still available).
As stated before,
incomplete or incorrect data -- especially on a government web site --
is the equivalent of electronic littering.
A peek at this revamped web site alerts visitors on how to get information for relocation -- not to the county, through its association with the local chamber's Tourism Development Council (TDC) --
rather points all readers to the Town of Blacksburg relocation guide, even though the county contributed to covering the costs for the TDCs "relocation" materials.
Christiansburg, you must be chopped liver. Auburn, you must be out in the boonies. Elliston, you must be the site of a new intermodal rail yard where only a handful of jobs will be created and the increased truck traffic will choke the air, water and roads.
Virginia Tech and its Corporate Research Center have tremendous resources available for marketing their own assets, already. Other data on crime, costs or incomes is not backed up by good information sources or is simply omitted.
What is
included and what has been
excluded on these pages is very telling about personal perceptions and preferences -- of the economic development department, web content developer, county administration and/or Board of Supervisors.
The site promotes a "pro-business" environment based on its strong infrastructure. That's the one with over $100MM in unmet needs requiring an
18% increase to real property taxes in the current budget cycle alone.
And the workforce "development" references the local school system which still lacks comprehensive business-education or vocational-technical programs. It also lists the area's community college, which offers programs unconnected to public education, and touts "highly sought after" certificate or associate degrees. Just which of these is highly sought after in today's global market?
The state workforce program "re-trains" displaced workers, so they know how to keyboard or operate point-and-click computer screens for retail jobs, making 50% less than before with limited, if any, benefits. Wow. Know any executives that are clamoring to sign up?
Don't use the workforce training funds to entice a company to come in, provide a certain budget for that company to develop and train new hires on their own -- that just wouldn't work in Virginia (yet has been highly successful for the Carolina's, which often compete with Virginia in economic development recruiting).
A look at the "industrial sites" listed includes the Christiansburg Industrial Park, where all the town-owned lots have been subdivided, re-divided and sold.
The web page format is so different as to lead viewers into thinking they've left the county's official site and moved to a different one altogether.
When will public officials quit working on pitching the community without involving all stakeholders, and developing a clear vision of its assets and strengths?
Simply mimicking basic packaging formulas found in any other community will not set Montgomery County apart. The county is well placed compared to many other communities, yet does have room for improvement and shouldn't try to glamorize or dress up itself up. Leave the "staging" to real estate agents.
A justification that "everyone else is doing it," doesn't fly with parents, and shouldn't be accepted by county citizens.