ICYMI: Article submitted to the Beacon last week. The Republican-led Township Committee has committed itself to promoting and making Hillsborough a great place to both work and live. One of the areas we pride ourselves on is working with the business community. That’s why we are excited to announce the “Shop Hillsborough” program, which encourages Hillsborough residents to shop locally. Here’s how it works. When you use the “Shop Hillsborough” card (which is being mailed to each household) to make purchases at participating local businesses, you will receive discounts. But instead of receiving your savings immediately at the time of purchase, you will accumulate them in an account that reduces your property tax bill. To further boost local business sales, the card will also be made available to residents who are renters, and even to individuals who work in Hillsborough without residing here. Those folks will receive a rebate check for shopping local with the card. The plan was originally vetted through our Economic and Business Development Commission (EBDC) last year, and adopted by the Township Committee early this year. The best part is that the response from the business community has been great; we have had 60 businesses sign up already. And we expect that number to grow as word of the program gets out. And the cost to Hillsborough taxpayers is ZERO! The plan is funded by the participating businesses, in anticipation of enjoying increased business from our residents. But our commitment to the business community doesn’t stop there. A few years ago, the Township Committee hired a Business Advocate to help business owners establish themselves in town and navigate through the planning and construction processes, and instituted an Economic Action Plan (EAP), still in place, to help our existing local businesses thrive, as well as attract new businesses to town. The EAP has been quite successful, helping to promote the establishment of hundreds of new business in Hillsborough, resulting in millions of dollars of new ratables since its inception. The EAP has also been praised at the State level, as Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno touted it as the “right way” for municipalities to be handling the recession. In addition, we established a municipal Regulatory Oversight Working Group that implemented nearly 40 regulatory and process changes, cutting bureaucratic red tape, reducing fees, and streamlining processes for our businesses. We also conducted a business forum to allow our business community to speak directly with our department heads and leadership. With the help of the EBDC, we continue to conduct business meetings to hear from our business community in town. The two-way dialogue with the businesses is a critical tool to help the Township find new ways to enhance our business friendly policies. We know there is still work to be done, but our visionary approach has put Hillsborough at the forefront of economic planning and business development in our region. Learn more by following Re-Elect Mayor Doug Tomson and Gloria McCauley in Hillsborough.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:56:12 +0000
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