Despite Petition, DCOA Shows Off Success in Building Tour
By: Kristin Anderson
Updated: April 18, 2012
"Like over 500 cities in Texas, collect the half-cent sales tax and then make strategic investments to create jobs," said Richard Burdine, CEO of the Development Corporation of Abilene.
This is how the DCOA gets money to make investments. Now there's a petition trying to disband the corporation because people don't think the money is going where it's supposed to.
"It needs to be stopped. The money needs to be put back into Abilene," said petition creator Don Lemmons. "Not put into other people's pockets."
Despite the skepticism, the DCOA says the statistics show they have been successful.
"With the top 15 employers, the Development Corporation has worked with, I believe 12 out of the 15, accounting for 85% of the total jobs in that group," said Burdine.
And the DCOA has invested in programs like the Fast-Track Welding Program at Cisco College. A program that student Aaron Adams thinks is beneficial.
"It's bettering a lot of people. It's giving us a chance to jump in that industry and have a good career for, it could be a lifetime career," said Adams.
And the American Eagle Services has benefited, too. They use the investments to help create jobs every year.
"We've grown every single year in head count. There's not one year that we've stayed stagnant and not grown," said Harley Hall, Operating Manager at American Eagle Services.
But creating jobs isn't the only thing the DCOA does. They also look to diversify the economy in Abilene to prevent the city from becoming dependent on just on economic service.
"It kind of evens out. So we don't have these wide swings in employment that you can have if you're only dependent on one sector," said Burdine.
This is how the DCOA gets money to make investments. Now there's a petition trying to disband the corporation because people don't think the money is going where it's supposed to.
"It needs to be stopped. The money needs to be put back into Abilene," said petition creator Don Lemmons. "Not put into other people's pockets."
Despite the skepticism, the DCOA says the statistics show they have been successful.
"With the top 15 employers, the Development Corporation has worked with, I believe 12 out of the 15, accounting for 85% of the total jobs in that group," said Burdine.
And the DCOA has invested in programs like the Fast-Track Welding Program at Cisco College. A program that student Aaron Adams thinks is beneficial.
"It's bettering a lot of people. It's giving us a chance to jump in that industry and have a good career for, it could be a lifetime career," said Adams.
And the American Eagle Services has benefited, too. They use the investments to help create jobs every year.
"We've grown every single year in head count. There's not one year that we've stayed stagnant and not grown," said Harley Hall, Operating Manager at American Eagle Services.
But creating jobs isn't the only thing the DCOA does. They also look to diversify the economy in Abilene to prevent the city from becoming dependent on just on economic service.
"It kind of evens out. So we don't have these wide swings in employment that you can have if you're only dependent on one sector," said Burdine.
