Rayovac's lesson: Focus on business
6:18 PM 1/13/04

To charge up local economic growth, Madison can't rely on battery power. Rayovac's move to Georgia, while not unexpected, teaches a hard lesson to those who still believe the city's much-vaunted livability naturally sustains the area's economic growth. <

Sure, Madison is a nice place to live, with natural beauty, great educational opportunities and a pretty diverse culture for a Midwestern town. But leaders of Rayovac, founded in 1906 as the French Battery Co. of Madison, believe the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody will be a better place to base their global business. Company bosses delivered a blow to Madison's self-esteem in their parting shot this week. <

"It's not the center of the universe," David Jones, chairman and chief executive officer of the battery maker, said. "And it also, particularly in the winter time, has difficulties with air (travel) because you can't go straight anywhere in Madison." <

Ow. The truth hurts. One of Dane County's primary economic weaknesses is its backwater status in the national transportation network, with relatively few direct flights to major centers of commerce. That must change, but meanwhile, Madison should waste no time applying other tools available to transform the local economy, including international-caliber researchers, a growing flow of investment capital and a well-educated work force. <

Rayovac's departure should be a call to arms for a revived Madison Economic Development Commission headed by University Research Park director Mark Bugher. Madison's mayor also promises an economic development package this spring, but in keeping with the mayor's interests, it will emphasize investments in education, transportation and the environment over steps to lure or expand businesses. <

Rayovac has delivered a reminder that Madison is overdue for this reassessment of its economic development priorities. With the old recession-proof government sector shrinking, Madison must work harder to invigorate business growth and employment - and shake the city's anti-business image. Regulating worker wages and housing prices, to name just two items slated for future City Council votes, only reinforce that image. <

More constructively, city government should speedily approve Bugher's proposal to double University Research Park acreage with a 260-acre site on the city's Southwest Side. The existing park employs 4,000 people who earn an average of $60,000 per year, roughly twice the state average. The property yields about $3.5 million in city property taxes each year. That's real economic development. <

Dane County's growth depends on successfully luring and promoting new ventures in life sciences, computing and high-tech fields. And a clear strategy to create higher-wage jobs, which means more people paying taxes, will help keep the economic wheels spinning. <

It's a pretty simple recipe: we need to keep and attract more educated workers, effectively support and expand our strong research base in Madison, and attract more out-of-state investment to boost other existing regional economic strengths. Holding down government spending also will help make Dane County more affordable to growing companies and young workers. <

Business leaders from across the state will gather today at Monona Terrace Convention Center to discuss business community priorities for the year. Maybe someone from Madison city government should check it out. They might find fodder for a fresh, sound economic development strategy that will keep the local economy healthy for the long term. <