By Meghan Hunscher, President & CEO

Morris County Chamber of Commerce & Morris County Economic Development Corporation

The Morris County Chamber of Commerce is addressing on a statewide level the challenges that businesses are encountering as a steering committee member of Opportunity New Jersey (ONJ), a non-partisan coalition, and a member of the Economic Development Advisory Council. The ONJ “Plan for an Affordable New Jersey” intends to set New Jersey on a path to increased competitiveness.  Since more than 80% of economic growth is a result of expansion of existing businesses, we need our state legislators to advance policies that support New Jersey businesses even as we seek to attract new companies to the state. 

New Jersey’s diverse economy, an ideal geographic location and extensive infrastructure, which should all make the Garden State attractive to businesses.  But when it comes to relieving corporate and personal tax burdens the state consistently ranks in the bottom of the fifty states year after year.  Fiscal headwinds impede New Jersey’s competitiveness and high wage job growth.

Low unemployment makes cultivating talent and ensuring career pathways key to growth of our economy. This includes retaining young professionals and retraining seasoned workers.  The Chamber and EDC, which work closely with the Workforce Development Board, have made strengthening the workforce a priority. Initiatives include: the launch of a Talent and Human Resources Committee and mentor program, the development of an on-line jobs database featuring employers in the county that will also include internships, support of local job fairs, and administering a GAINS apprenticeship grant in conjunction with the German American Chamber and the County College of Morris.  

Morris County consistently ranks as a “top 10” county in the nation based on household income and quality of life. The county boasts the highest about of preserved land in the state while producing an impressive $53 billion gross regional product, which is greater than five states.  However, business surveys have revealed that talent is deterred from locating in New Jersey due to high housing costs. As the Chamber educates the business community on best practices related to talent attraction and retention, the EDC is preparing a relocation guide that will promote the county’s variety of employment and housing choices.

The ONJ’S “Plan for an Affordable New Jersey” puts forth grant and tax-credit investments in workforce training and job placement programs, business tax structure reforms, reinforces the need to drive capital investments into lower income communities the Opportunity Zone program and aligns with the broad tenants of Governor Murphy’s new vision for tax incentives.  The ONJ’s Economic Development and Advisory Council plans to meet with policymakers in Trenton to provide input on legislation that positions New Jersey for not only fiscal stability, but business and job growth.  New Jersey’s loss of talent will have long term negative effects if it is not addressed. The Morris County Chamber of Commerce is proud to be working toward a solution with the ONJ coalition. 

To learn more about the Plan for an Affordable New Jersey, and the formation of the New Jersey Economic Development and Advisory Council, please visit www.opportunitynj.org. Make sure to click Join Our Mailing List to stay updated on news and developments.

by Michael Kerwin
President and CEO, Somerset County Business Partnership

In any discussion about the hotbeds for discovery and innovation in the United States — in fact, around the world — New Jersey is always high on the list. As home to 20 members of the Fortune 500, the Garden State has the talent, infrastructure, and resources necessary to lead the world in life-changing innovation. More than 17,000 businesses have a presence here in Somerset County alone, including global innovators that include LabCorp, GSK, Sanofi, and Ethicon.

We are, however, on the brink of toppling over an economic precipice, and New Jersey’s rightful place as an innovation leader on the global stage is tenuous. Significant corporate tax burdens — among the highest in the nation — have made our state much less regionally attractive for businesses, both large and small. And our prohibitively high cost-of-living is among the reasons why New Jersey holds the dubious honor of leading the nation in the number of residents moving out. This makes it more difficult for world-class companies to retain world-class talent.

This is an alarming statistic for a state that is in the top ten nationwide for the most patents held — a state that for years has boasted the world’s highest concentration of scientists and engineers. These are people who invent products that prolong and enhance human lives. Their extraordinary minds and considerable skills are crucial to our future. But like anyone else, they have mortgages to pay, families to feed, and children to educate.

What New Jersey needs is an action-based plan that focuses on addressing our economic challenges and fiscally outdated systems. Opportunity New Jersey (ONJ), whose steering committee includes representation from the Somerset County Business Partnership and major statewide chambers of commerce, has developed such a plan. ONJ recently announced its Plan for an Affordable New Jersey, along with the establishment of the New Jersey Economic Development and Advisory Council. I encourage all our business leaders, and our lawmakers in Trenton, to give these initiatives their full attention.

With a goal of stimulating job growth in New Jersey, the Plan makes preserving and promoting our state’s business interests a priority. It calls for no new mandates on New Jersey employers, and a two-year moratorium on taxes, fees, and other government actions that affect job creators. The Plan challenges Trenton to reform our business tax structure, following through on the promised sunset of the Corporate Business Tax and making no further increases to the Gross Income Tax. It also encourages continued activities that stimulate venture capital investment, such as the proposed Innovation Evergreen Fund — which will make about $500 million in venture capital funds available to New Jersey-based startups. That’s the kind of boost New Jersey needs to put us on the right path to affordability and ongoing innovation.

A key component of the plan is the Economic Development and Advisory Council, on which I have been asked to serve. With so many business interests and industry organizations jostling for the attention of our Governor and legislative leaders, the Council aims to be a united voice through which our concerns (and our expert guidance and influence) can be heard. 

We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there. We look forward to participating.

To learn more about the Plan for an Affordable New Jersey, and the formation of the New Jersey Economic Development and Advisory Council, please visit www.opportunitynj.org. Make sure to click Join Our Mailing List to stay updated on news and developments.

ATLANTIC CITY — Tom Bracken and Michele Siekerka of Opportunity New Jersey (ONJ) are on a mission to make New Jersey more attractive for businesses — and more affordable for employers and residents. The two business leaders presented this week at a meeting of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce board of directors, where they spoke of the importance of putting the state’s economy on the right track.

Bracken, President and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and Siekerka, President and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, provided an update on the establishment of Opportunity New Jersey’s Economic Development and Advisory Council, which is poised to be a leading voice in Trenton on statewide business and economic issues. They also walked participants through the tenets of ONJ’s Plan for an Affordable New Jersey.

The Plan, which was introduced at a press conference in Trenton this summer, outlines key action items to position the state for job growth and make it more regionally competitive businesses and employers. These include reforming corporate and individual taxes, making key investments in infrastructure and workforce development, and taking steps to attract venture and private equity funding to New Jersey.   

Bracken and Siekerka praised the state’s many assets and advantages, which include an exceptional labor market, ideal proximity to major metropolitan areas, and a strong transportation infrastructure. “However, the practical reality is that New Jersey has too many structural challenges that continue to hold it back from achieving the competitiveness it deserves  — including tax rates that make the state less affordable for both our younger and aging populations, and an outmigration of wealth that affects our ability to generate revenue for the state’s operating budget,” they said. “Quite simply, the Garden State needs a course correction on the path to affordability and becoming a welcoming environment for businesses.”

Bracken and Siekerka are scheduled to make a similar presentation to the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce in November. More information about the Plan, and the newly formed Economic Development and Advisory Council, is available at www.opportunitynj.org.