|
Forsyth economy weathering tough times
|
FORSYTH COUNTY - The national scene has looked bleak in terms of economic progress. In fact, James McCoy, president of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, described the national news as "insane."
But McCoy said Forsyth has weathered these uncertain times well and, in some cases, better than the rest of Metro Atlanta.
"Sure there has been a downturn in SPLOST collections and the bond market has been moving slow," he said, "but that didn't stop anything moving forward, either. It's just been slower than normal."
In terms of retail and the housing market, McCoy said Forsyth is "much better positioned" than some of its neighbors.
"We are enduring the pain," he said, "but compared to the rest of the Metro area, we are doing much better."
McCoy said this is perfect time for entrepreneurs to shine.
"We have much better land deals here than we've had in the past," he said. "Plenty of folks with good credit are going to be taking advantage of that. If someone had that entrepreneurial spirit, there is an incredible opportunity to be had."
But McCoy said the downside could be a future increase in the local taxes.
"We would still be lower than the average in the Metro area," he said.
The tough economic times have had one benefit.
"It has made the strong stronger," he said. "It's forced some businesses to get down to something rational, and it has cleared the market of people that have no business being in business."
McCoy said the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce has trimmed down to become as lean as possible without cutting programs.
"There are some things we've pulled back from that are not critical to our organization," he said.
| |
|
|
