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2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 21,2022
Dawson leaders discuss local
economic growth, challenges
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Tourism has become a
vital part of the local
economy, and Dawson
County Chamber of
Commerce President and
CEO Mandy Power
recently shared the num
bers to prove it.
Visitors spent $97.7
million in Dawson
County throughout 2021,
a 25.8% increase from
2020, Power said during
her presentation at the
Board of Commissioners’
Dec. 1 voting session.
Even though the
COVID-19 pandemic
impacted 2020 revenues,
which fell by about $10
million, there was still an
increase by roughly that
same amount when com
paring 2019 to 2021 num
bers, Power added.
Last year, Dawson
County brought in $6.1
million in state and local
tax revenues while direct
ly supporting 608 jobs in
the tourism industry.
“That [revenue] saves
each one of our citizens
$640 per year on their
property taxes, just from
the offset we get from
tourism,” Power said.
Retail
Development Authority
of Dawson County chair
Brian Trapnell, who pre
sented after Power, also
pointed to tourism and
retail, like the North
Georgia Premium
Outlets, as a “big compo
nent of what we do from
an economic development
perspective.”
During his presenta
tion, Trapnell reiterated
that residential property is
still driving Local Option
Sales Tax or LOST col
lections, making up 67%
of Dawson County’s 2021
tax digest.
Commercial properties
compose 16%, with agri
cultural and conservation
land each contributing
7% to the tax digest and
industrial and miscella
neous collections com
bined adding 3%.
“Thankfully, due to the
retail and food service
component of our com-
munity-which from a
wage perspective is a
challenge for someone
who wants to live and
work in Dawson County-
that particular sector or
sectors really help miti
gate the cost to our citi
zens,” Trapnell said.
A 2021 Georgia Tech
study, based on LY2019
data, concluded that
Dawson County’s resi
dential tax digest comes
close to paying for gov
ernment services used,
with $1.04 spent for
every dollar of revenue.
The study stated that
local businesses pay for
more than they get back
in services-$0.71 in
expenses for every dollar
of revenue-and that the
companies offer a larger
surplus-only $0.41 spent
for every dollar-when
considering school reve
nue.
“The more that we can
diversify not away from
residential, but diversify
that tax base in a way that
spreads it around a little
more evenly, then we
have a stronger tax base
going forward,” Trapnell
said.
The Georgia Labor
Market Explorer’s most
recent, second-quarter
analysis for Dawson
County showed that the
community’s largest
wages are paid in manu
facturing, finance and
professional scientific
and technical services
jobs.
Weekly earnings were
$1,099, $1,525 and
$1,243 respectively for
those industries as of Q2.
However, retail and
accommodation/food ser
vice workers earn the
lowest locally at $571 and
$449 per week.
And of the 9,800-plus
employees in Dawson
County, 2,962 work in
retail, and 1,632 work in
accommodation/food ser
vice jobs.
“You can see with retail
and food services, that
that’s where all our jobs
are,” Trapnell said, echo
ing his May presentation
to the board. “As a com
munity, we understand
that’s where we are. But
over time, we want to
make sure we make
strides to further diversifi
cation, because we know
that based on this next
slide, the vast majority of
our citizens work else
where.”
Of the workers who
live in Dawson County,
9,508 leave to work in
another community, while
1,625 stay for local jobs.
Then, 6,777 from outside
Dawson come for work.
“So, how can we create
opportunities to let those
who live here, work
here,” said Trapnell, “and
find opportunities ulti
mately for our children
and grandchildren to
make the decision to
come back to Dawson
County and work, from a
professional perspec
tive?”
He elaborated that part
of the development
authority’s strategy has
been to uplift, support
and retain existing indus
tries.
Lor new incoming busi
nesses, Trapnell consulted
a first-quarter 2022 sur-
vey from “Area
Development Magazine”
when explaining what
factors influence a com
pany’s decision to invest
in a community.
He listed labor costs,
availability of skilled
labor, energy/utility avail
ability and shipping/
transportation costs as
interested industries’ “top
four” priorities.
With supply chain con
cerns over the past two
years, though, Trapnell
said securing raw materi
als has risen from below
the top 15 to become the
six-most important factor
for industries looking to
expand.
Trapnell also pointed to
key economic objectives,
such as improving current
and offering alternative
transportation options or
creating destination spots
with green space and
enhanced entertainment.
He described the attrac
tions element as equally
important to competing
with labor, utility, trans
portation and other costs.
“As a community, we
want to make sure that we
are demonstrating value
to prospective investors
[and show] that we are a
great place to live and
work and we are walk-
able,” Trapnell said. “Can
you walk to a restaurant
and go to a concert and
play cornhole along the
way?”
“What are people look
ing for as far as commer
cial [options]?”, District 3
Commissioner Tim
Satterfield asked Trapnell.
“Lor a long time, there
was a thought that having
a little bit of land with a
prepared building- a spec
building- would be what
drew a company to the
community,” Trapnell
said.
“If someone is looking
to build in the communi
ty, they’re looking for a
pad-ready site-a site that
is flat, has utilities tied to
it and that provides room
for them to expand.”
It’s “less on the build
ing” and “more on the
land side of it,” he added,
with Satterfield noting the
placement of utilities as
another key factor for a
prospective community
partner.
“I know a lot of people
would like to have the
opportunity to go to spe
cialties here instead of
going to Gainesville or
Atlanta or Lulton,”
Satterfield added.
The Northside and
Northeast Georgia
Medical Center hospital
systems are both consid
ering expanding their
footprints in Dawson
County. Other medical
businesses are also look
ing in the area and talking
about having offices or
specialties close to the
new NGMC hospital,
Director of Economic
Development Kevin
Herrit told the board.
Trapnell specified that
he and his colleagues
have identified medical
services as a “current tar
get industry because of
that proximate develop
ment.”
“Ultimately, economic
development is a long
game,” Trapnell said.
“And we will be opportu
nistic at every opportuni
ty. But it also requires a
level of patience that,
[for] many of us that
struggle with patience...
have to struggle through.”
The
Dawson
County
Chamber
of
Commerce
is located
at 44
Commerce
Drive off
of Ga. 400
North.
DCN file photo
Death Notices
Andrew Thomas
Jones
December 16, 2022
Andrew Thomas Jones,
76 of Dahlonega, GA
passed away on Friday,
December 16. Funeral
Services will be held on
Tuesday, December 20, at
2:00 p.m. at Harvest
Baptist Church,
Dawsonville, GA. The
family will receive quest
on Tuesday from 10:00 ?
1:30 p.m. Bearden
Funeral Home.
Karen
Abercrombie
Boling
December 7, 2022
Karen Abercrombie
Boling, 61, of Dawsonville
died Wednesday,
December 7. Graveside
Service, Monday,
December 19, 2 p.m., Mt.
Vernon Baptist Church
Cemetery. Bearden
Funeral Home,
Dawsonville, GA.
James R. Massey
December 10, 2022
James R. Massey, 64, of
Dawsonville died
Saturday, December 10.
Funeral service, Thursday,
December 15, 2 o?clock,
Bearden Funeral Home
Chapel. Bearden Funeral
Home, Dawsonville, GA.
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^ Daws o n C o u nty N e ws
A Metro Market Media Publication
Established in 2015 by the merger of Dawson Community News and Dawson News and Advertiser
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