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President/CEO Gary Molberg Finance & Administration Dianne McClish, VP Christy Bigler Mary Garcia
S O U T H
By: Penni Bentley, Director of Communications A new campaign launched in Amarillo on Tuesday, May 4th, Shop Smart. Shop Local.
Communication Penni Bentley, Director Business Development & Governmental Affairs Jason Harrison, Director Kim Woolsey
“Mayor McCartt shared their concerns with me, and we started talking about project ideas to address the decline in local sales dollars and how to implement something positive to give our city a boost,” said Chamber President & CEO, Gary Molberg.
Quality of Life & Arts Becky Zenor, VP Lupe Fasano K. Lynn Kiihn
The city’s annual budget looks like a huge dollar amount to most of us and many might think that the city has more than enough money. No one likes to pay taxes or have taxes increased, but we determined that a key part of the local declining sales tax issue is insuring that the public has the correct understanding about what those sales tax dollars represent and mean to each and every citizen of Amarillo. Of the 8.25% charged on goods and services in Amarillo, the city general fund operates on only one cent of every dollar paid in taxes. The monies the city collects and keeps for operations are critical to providing the needed services we as citizens often take for granted—police and fire and sanitation departments are examples. The safety of our residents and their property is affected when cuts have to be made in those critical areas due to decline in collected sales tax dollars. That makes the issue of sales tax revenue to be everyone’s concern and responsibility.
Convention & Visitor Council Jerry Holt, VP Mindy Bradley Jutta Matalka Eric Miller Rick Matchett Tina Teague Tiffany Redinger K. Lynn Kiihn Dulcy Carden Visitor Information Center & Gift Shop Mary Ramirez, Manager Helen Martinez Nancy Simpson Ann Beach Kay Cochran PO Box 9480 Amarillo, TX 79105 806.373.7800 806.373.3909 fax Amarillo-Chamber.org
T E X A S
Shopping Local Makes Amarillo Stronger It was a little over six months ago when the city’s annual sales tax numbers came across the desk of City Manager, Alan Taylor. Looking at the declining revenue, particularly relating to local sales tax dollars, Mayor Debra McCartt and Taylor immediately started researching ways to boost the numbers. What they discovered is this problem tends to be an issue in most cities across the country at this time although Amarillo is weathering this trend better than most.
Membership Andrea McClintock, VP Lupe Fasano Linda Palmer
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“I remember the dark days following 9/11 when our country was facing uncertain times. Our local paper started a campaign to remind the public that our country couldn't just shut down—we had to support America—we were encouraged to buy American products and Shop at Home,” commented Molberg. “I knew that we would need the support and manpower of the local media for a new project of this scope to be successful, so I contacted Les Simpson at the Amarillo Globe-News. Les and his staff took the ball and ran with it over the past few months, and I think as a team
that includes city officials, we have kicked off a great program to encourage local spending that will benefit the entire city.” Headlines and news channels are hammering the word
recession into everyone’s brain, and people are spend-
ing more conservatively. So how do you justify asking people to shop and spend money in this economic climate? The key isn’t necessarily how much you spend...it’s HOW you spend. The goal of this campaign is to point out the importance of money spent locally. When you shop at a store in Amarillo or eat in an Amarillo restaurant or buy a car at a local dealership, those businesses are able to hire and pay employees. Spending locally protects jobs as well. In turn, local employees then have the opportunity to spend locally. The money is recycled in our community. Dollars spent on the internet or in other cities for goods that could be purchased in Amarillo leave the community, and the monies are gone permanently with no chance for the city to recapture the funds for use in the city general fund.
Over the next year you will see various programs released that are designed to encourage shopping and spending in Amarillo that will offer great benefits to consumers. Be sure to visit www.amarilloshopsmart.com for informative video messages from key sponsors and register for your chance to win $100 gift cards that will be given away every single day.
Les Simpson, Publisher Amarillo Globe-News with Gary Molberg, Chamber President/CEO