By Stan Booker, Mayor, City of Lawton
Some companies get it; some don’t. Old business models are not working as the world is changing at the speed of light. If a company does not make the necessary changes, they will soon be managing a dying business model. The same is true for cities. Some will make the change; some will not. The cities that do not will soon find themselves declining. Fortunately for us, the City Council gets it and is planning the essential changes.
We have made the necessary effort to go out and study successful communities, and we have identified profound similarities. In every case, they had a plan for the future that included investment in themselves as an investment in the future. Our Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is our plan for the future. Approval will extend an already existing tax (not a new tax), which will add critical allocations that will enable us to invest in the things that matter in today’s world.
In Lawton-Fort Sill, we need to do so much and do so quickly to change the course of our future. The CIP will give us the flexibility to do that. We have so many infrastructure challenges (covered recently by the media) that must be addressed. If we are going to turn the tide on crime, we will have to invest in our young people. Programs that battle the poverty of consciousness that leads to crime must be implemented. Where our young people are concerned, we must invest in the STEM programs that will prepare them for high-tech jobs.
And, maybe most importantly, we must invest in jobs. Without jobs, we lose our young people to other markets and we lose the tax base that would fuel improvements across all sectors of our community. We have studied what is needed to bring high-tech jobs into a community. We must be able to provide the infrastructure, education, employees, quality of life, and investment that new businesses are looking for. Fortunately, this is not rocket science. We can compete.
We are working hard to synchronize the plans across our community. We aim to include all stakeholders. By way of our Lawton-Fort Sill Working Group, we are making much progress in ensuring the plan for the Army’s Cross-Functional Teams has a very positive impact for our Army and for our city. As we demonstrated with our TIF proposal, we are working with our educators and our communities to ensure that we are all rowing together. The unanimous recommendation from our TIF committee and the subsequent vote from our City Council demonstrated that we are working together as a team for positive change.
Building on this progress, we will have a business development forum that is open to the entire county. The Comanche County Business Development Forum (BDF) will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to come to the table and share their ideas and their needs. The Lawton Economic Development Corporation should contract a professional business development firm to study our community and to assist with a comprehensive business development plan that synchronizes the plans of the individual stakeholders. This plan will be a living document that is shared with the community during Comanche County BDF meetings and amended as necessary by way of input from our citizenry.
As far as prioritization, we must begin to think like a successful community. Yes, we must plan, but be flexible. As recently as three years ago, we did not believe that our City services could be shut down by a virus, and five years ago we were not really conscious of how eCommerce was changing the local economic landscape. We must have leaders that can manage more than one priority, and not choose between crime reduction or streets or parks or other critical infrastructure. The old model is not working. What the Council is proposing is not business as usual. We are changing the way we look at the world. We will claim the opportunities that should be ours. We will work together for a better future. We will have faith in each other. We are going to plan like prosperous communities. On Feb. 11, demonstrate that you love Lawton-Fort Sill.
VOTE YES FOR THE CIP!