It is often said, "The business of business is business." Our job in the general population is to decide when business should mind its own business and not ours.
Sometimes we forget how gradual and easy it is to blur the lines and differences between entities when both are, at first blush anyway, seemingly pursuing the same goal. Last week, Fayetteville once again was engaged in a clarification exercise of what a city commission does and what a private organization, the chamber of commerce, does in their similar goals of promoting Fayetteville.
The chamber, which currently is contracted with the city for economic development work, is a private organization with an office next door to City Hall, a staff, a board of directors and a paying membership consisting "of approximately 1,200 leaders and professionals, representing all types of businesses." Their mission is, "to serve as a leader and advocate for our membership by promoting a strong business climate in Fayetteville and by facilitating positive community interaction that will result in continued economic development and enhanced quality of life."
The city of Fayetteville's Advertising and Promotion Commission administers revenue from a 1 percent tax on hotel, motel and restaurant sales generally to be used to promote tourism and conventions, but it also has a lot of involvement with festival organizers and nonprofits. The commission has four members who are owners or managers of tourism-related businesses; two members are from the governing body of the city; and one is from the public-at-large.
The chamber of commerce has been in the news twice in a big way since the midterms on Nov. 4. Two days after the election this newspaper reported the chamber had tossed its hat into the ring to be considered as the managing entity for the A & P Commission upon current director Marilyn Heifner's retirement January 31. The next day, Nov. 7, the chamber called a press conference to announce its board had voted unanimously to campaign for the repeal of the city's new Civil Rights Ordinance, Chapter 119. That particular action ruffled the feathers of a couple of the town's big birds, Mayor Lioneld Jordan and UA Chancellor David Gearhart, who are both ex-officio members of the chamber's board. Neither had been told of the meeting or vote and felt since their names are part of the chamber's who's who list of supposed supporters, the vote's implication made them guilty by association. Neither was in agreement with this ordinance repeal action and have asked the chamber to rescind it.
Are these two seemingly different chamber actions in any way related? If so, their timing and self-confidence were strangely askew. I wonder if the irony was lost on them that putting in their bid for taking the reins of a city commission was hardly a good moment to be flexing their political muscle on a very controversial local issue. Whatever their reasoning, or lack thereof, these two chamber actions come at a good time for the public to understand how to clearly define the differences in public and private operating methods.
When tax money is involved, the public providing that funding needs complete information about all of the workings of any boards, commissions, etc., that is connected in any way to their city, state or nation. But, the very nature of private business-recruiting organizations, like the chamber or the Northwest Arkansas Council, requires discretion in information sharing.
Private operation can come into direct conflict with public awareness and can also run counter to the values, opinions and goals of different segments of a town's overall population. Not everyone in Fayetteville, for example, is so sure that the price of doing business is worth the cost of much that is lost in the process. The overall citizenry's opinions need open and public forums and representation opportunities.
Current A&P director Heifner outlined her take on the management issue in a letter available on their website, http://www.experiencefayetteville.com/images/chamber_response_11-14.pdf.
There are basic differences of interests and working philosophies between private organizations that do political campaigning and endorsements and a branch of a city's government that is supposed to exist for everyone's access and that spends public money. I think, therefore, it was a good thing that the Advertising and Promotion Commission declined to put the chamber on its list of finalists for its director's job. It is my opinion that government should not be run as a business because, simply, it isn't one.
FRAN ALEXANDER IS A FAYETTEVILLE RESIDENT WITH A LONGSTANDING INTEREST IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND AN OPINION ON ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE.
Commentary on 11/16/2014