Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Plainfield is Open for Business and We're Here to Help!

My administration and I are committed to the growth of Plainfield—not only to the overall growth of its economy, but also to the cultural, social, and personal growth of every business and every individual in the community. With that in mind, we continuously seek ways to promote and support that growth utilizing various avenues of engagement, such as in the commercials focused on Plainfield's economic development and on Plainfield's rich, historic housing stock. Scroll to the bottom of this post to view the videos. Further, over the past year, we have hosted several seminars and networking events with just such a focus: 
  • Financial Analysis to learn how to manage finances and become debt-free
  • Retirement plans for business owners
  • How to build or rebuild your credit
  • Business networking event
  • Meet the bankers networking event
  • Business Continuity Workshop emphasizing staying open for business, how to handle business disruptions
These are just some that have taken place within the last year, and we intend to continue to provide these events to support our local businesses and residents. In just a few weeks, we will host an “Introduction to QuickBooks seminar, focusing on strategies to keep your business records and transactions in order.

We recognize that it can be overwhelming, handling the day-to-day responsibilities that go with being an adult, a parent, a business owner…. What we want to do is supply tools and mechanisms that can help you cope with these responsibilities. When one of us grows, even incrementally, we all grow.

We want to strengthen our community, we want to provide a path to higher education for all who want to pursue it, and we want to see our city flourish and thrive. What we don’t want to see is one of us struggling because he or she lacks adequate support or resources.

Our city is experiencing growth in every sector. Investors and developers have shown that they believe Plainfield is a great place to live, work, and grow, and so have invested in Plainfield. We want our community and local businesses to benefit from these investments and grow proportionately.
 
Many of you may have heard of the Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program. It allows the city administration to provide grants to businesses to help with things like improved signage and façades which help make the business more aesthetically pleasing. The designation also allows businesses enrolled in the UEZ program to charge only ½ the regular sales tax rate to their customers. Many businesses have taken advantage of this program and have benefited greatly.

One such business has been able to double the size of their restaurant in 15 years and now attracts customers not only from Plainfield, but also those from the surrounding municipalities and even some from as far away as New York City. We want to see every business in Plainfield enjoy this kind of success and continue to grow every year as the City grows.

Plainfield, I encourage you to take advantage of every program, every seminar, and every resource available to you. If we could we would visit every house, every school, every business, and speak with you personally… but we can’t do that. What we can do is make them available and hope that you will come and join us, that you will be as dedicated to growing Plainfield as we are, that you will see the potential as we do, and that you will fight to see that vision come to fruition.

If you want to know what is happening…here's what you should do:

The information is there and we are open for business!







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