County officials tout ‘buy local’
By Chris Bishop Staff Writer, Burlington County Times| Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 12:00 am
BORDENTOWN CITY — Burlington County officials are pushing the advantages of something quite simple: buy in your own backyard.
“My goal is simple,” said Freeholder Joseph Donnelly. “Grow jobs and business … Small business is the backbone of Burlington County and Bordentown City.”
Donnelly made his remarks to about two dozen local business people Tuesday night at the Carslake Community Center to promote the county’s new initiative, Shop Burlington County First.
County officials are selling their “buy local” initiative to municipal and business partners hoping they will take part in the marketing and economic development tool to keep shoppers here.
The freeholders and their regional partners in the effort, the county Bridge Commission and the Burlington County Chamber of Commerce, earlier this year announced a series of informational sessions to detail their Shop Burlington County First campaign.
Tuesday’s session at the Carslake Community Center was the second. The first was in Maple Shade. The last will be Monday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Burlington County College Culinary Arts Center in Mount Holly.
County authorities said Shop Burlington County First is an initiative aimed at supporting in-county businesses, promoting downtown and business districts, strengthening the local economy, and improving the conditions needed to spur job growth.
The Shop Burlington County First campaign, with a new website and logo, will include coordinated marketing and promotion for local businesses. The website is www.shopburlingtoncounty.com.
The startup costs will be subsidized by the freeholders, bridge commission and chamber, officials said. Local partners, including business associations, municipal economic development committees and others will register individual businesses.
The effort is voluntary and costs the businesses nothing to join if they belong to a business group or contact their economic development committee.
About 90 businesses have signed up so far, Donnelly said.
“We need to make sure the business community is on board,” Donnelly said, as a first step.
One of the parts of the program is a gift card initiative. Managed by the Burlington County Chamber of Commerce, the cards will be good at participating businesses. They aim to drive customers to local business.
Mark Remsa, director of economic development and regional planning at the Bridge Commission, told the business people the county was not trying to usurp the functions of the local chambers.
“We’re not replacing what the local associations do,” Remsa said. “You do it well and you know your market. We want to help you expand it.”
Bordentown City Mayor Joseph Malone, who attended the meeting, praised the county’s involvement, saying it would help the business community. He said the city has weathered the recession fairly well and was looking forward to continued success in its downtown.
“We have the small-town feel,” Malone said. “We have a much more savvy business community.”
The county estimates that for every $100 spent here, $65 is recirculated into the local economy.