News Article
Idea of hiring lobbyist deserves consideration
Lobbyists in Washington, D.C., have been promoting the cause of corporations and large urban areas for years.
But the idea of a smaller community hiring a lobbyist - specifically to promote its interests - is fairly new.
Dr. Marv Cetron, president of Forecasting International in Washington, D.C., said he believes "it's the way to go" and that Norfolk and Madison County should give serious thought to getting on board.
Cetron is helping organizers of the Visioning 2026 process, which is designed to encourage Norfolk and Madison County residents to envision the future and capitalize on growing trends.
Cetron knows that lobbyists who work for small communities are successful. Take Treasure Island, Fla., for example.
Treasure Island only sounds as though it's located in fantasy world. In reality, the town of 7,500 faces the same challenges as most any other community in America.
For instance, several years ago, it needed to repair a crumbling bridge.
According to a story in the New York Times, after state and federal funding sources went dry, city officials decided they had no choice but to issue bonds, raise property taxes and increase the toll on a local highway to 50 cents.
Before moving ahead with those plans, Treasure Island officials made a last-ditch effort to acquire federal funding by hiring a federal lobbyist, who managed to get them a $50 million appropriation.
It was $35 million more than they even had requested.
The process is called earmarking, which does not mean that more federal dollars are being spent but focuses on how available dollars are divvied up.
Since then, Treasure Island has continued to pay its lobbyist $5,000 a month and has continued to reap benefits, including $500,000 in federal funds to repair a sewer plant, and more than $1 million for walkways and crosswalks.
"It's worth the money," Cetron said. "If you can't get back eight to 10 times what you're paying, you have the wrong lobbyist."
In the past 10 years, the number of Washington lobbyists hired by public entities has risen from around 750 to more than 1,400.
"The average paid by communities is $5,000 a month . . . and they usually bring in $500,000 to $600,000 annually," Cetron said.
Other communities in Florida are benefiting as well.
According to the New York Times article, North Miami Beach and Homestead, both with populations of around 40,000, received a combined $13 million in earmarks over the past five years compared with nothing for six cities of similar size in the area.
While some people question the practice of communities hiring lobbyists, claiming that elected officials should be the ones helping secure funds for needed projects, Cetron said most elected officials are too busy and normally don't have the expertise to be lobbyists.
And communities such as Norfolk that are located in the heart of America should get every penny out of Washington that they can, especially when it comes to Homeland Security money, Cetron said.
"Over half the world's food supply is coming from your area. Make sure your portion (of tax money) comes back to you," Cetron said.
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