Macon development groups end feud

Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor

Two groups that promote economic development in Macon and Bibb Co., Ga., ended what had become a bitter turf dispute when on Friday they announced a new partnership to recruit and retain business, the Macon Telegraph’s website macon.com reports.

Officials with the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority and Macon Economic Development Commission have negotiated a three-year contract that stipulates each group keep the other informed of their activities and that they work together to attract industry, according to macon.com.

According to the new agreement, the MEDC will remain the area’s “point of contact” with Georgia officials, developers and prospective companies, while the authority will control public funding set aside for development as well as be more involved with potential projects, officials said, the newspaper reports.

The authority voted earlier this year to do its own marketing and said it would keep MEDC on through June 30. The industrial authority has argued marketing is its role, and that it is the only entity authorized to receive public funding for marketing efforts. The MEDC, which has firmly disagreed, has received funding from the city, county and water authority, as well as private contributions, according to macon.com.

As the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported earlier, the authority voted June 6 to move ahead to sever its relationship with MEDC, prompting some members of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce to say the authority’s decision could affect economic projects that took years to build.

At a Friday news conference following the groups’ decision to make amends, MEDC Chairman Mike Dyer said “Economic development is back on the right track,” the Macon newspaper reported.