Think Pascagoula First 

            As I delve into the body of this blog, I trust you will see my deep and ever growing concern and forgive my, at times, seemingly harsh candor, but I feel what I am about to share needs to be expressed for the potential betterment of our community.  After all, if you've ever read my previous blogs then you know I do not shy away from subjects I am passionate about; I present an issue and give you my assessment.  I trust you will give it a fair read and see the heart of what I am trying to convey.

I must admit - I'm confused.  I'm shaking my head in disbelief frankly.  I thought that we as citizens of Pascagoula all wanted to grow and progress by encouraging the development and expansion of local small businesses.  I thought we all wanted to be able to have more dining options, more retail stores, more family friendly amenities, more Pascagoula-community focused businesses and organizations of all sorts to help diversify our tax base, to help put more money back in your pocketbooks, to give you and your families more choices right here in our city.  I thought that we as citizens of Pascagoula stood by our local business people even though they may not be the best at what they do all of the time or offer the highest quality product or service at every turn, but dang it, they are our business people who we see in the checkout lines, who we sit by on the pew on Sunday, who dine at the table across the room, and who we cheer with on Friday nights.  After all, as Shakespeare said in The Merchant of Venice, "All that glitters is not gold." I thought we stuck by our people.  Today, I'm starting to wonder.

            For me as a local small business manager and an elected official, it is disturbing to see the trend that is taking shape.  I hear of more and more people shopping and dining outside of Pascagoula every day.  "Oh, have you been to the new restaurant/store in ________ (fill in the blank with any other area besides Pascagoula)."  I have seen first hand local hotels losing guests to out of Pascagoula chains.  Ad agencies and media conglomerates are swooping in knocking off the little guys.  Out of area contractors are gaining ground it seems.  Add all of these and more up and soon, if such a trend continues, Pascagoula will be seeing a very significant loss of sales tax revenue which will eventually result in potential loss of services and could even affect each of our pocketbooks come tax time each year.

Both before I was elected and since, I have worked to develop and encourage small businesses to invest and expand in Pascagoula.  I have held people's hands and talked them through the startup process and have assured them that the people of Pascagoula would embrace them with open arms because Pascagoula truly desires more diversity in all of the business arenas, saying that if you invest in us, we'll invest in you.  Pascagoula people aren't fair weather fans, or so I hope.  Having a wide array of business options for our citizens whether it be for dining, shopping, consulting, legal, banking, media, engineering, hospitality, and on and on only better serves our local community with a Pascagoula focus in a true hometown style. That has been and continues to be my core belief.

It is time that we as the citizens of Pascagoula wake up to the cold hard facts and the reality at hand.  Every dollar that is spent outside of Pascagoula is one more dollar that we as a city must make up somewhere, whether in the form of a loss of services, such as streets not being paved, drainage not being repaired, parks not being upgraded, or in the form of a millage (tax) increase which comes directly out of your wallet.  If each and every citizen of Pascagoula truly thought before they bought we would see an enormous upswing in sales tax revenues, giving the city the opportunity to accomplish all of those things we all want to see.  And given the current economic downturn, shopping, buying, and focusing on local small businesses just makes sense.

You out there reading this that work for the large industries and live in Pascagoula should be encouraging your employers to do all they can to support local Pascagoula businesses first.  You out there that will be taking the family out to dinner tonight should choose the Pascagoula restaurants first.  You out there that need that new suit, dress, or children's outfit should take a look along Delmas, Market, and Highway 90 first.  You out there that need to get the word out about your next event or advertise your business should contact a Pascagoula based TV, radio, and print media source first.  Whether you're looking for a place for a guest to rest their head for the night, invest your money, or all of the above, we all must choose Pascagoula first if Pascagoula is going to truly succeed and thrive.  Think before you buy. 

I hope my ramblings have encouraged you today, despite the passion and intensity that I have interjected at times.  Maybe with your help my confusion will soon go away.  Pascagoula is a great city with much unrealized potential.  That potential can only be achieved with each of us making a focused effort of supporting our local area in all we do day-in and day-out.  I am fortunate enough to be able to serve this city over the upcoming four years and am resolved to do whatever I can to promote and encourage the positive redevelopment of Pascagoula.  I hope you will join me in these efforts.  And remember today's thought - Pascagoula First - Think before you buy!

Frank Corder

Pascagoula City Councilman - Ward 4