ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Benjamin Franklin once commented on the necessity of "hanging together" so that each does not "hang separately." Economic data and the fiscal strain being experienced by Berkshire communities suggest that the time is at hand to develop partnerships which can draw on the talents and commitment of all citizens, leaders, and communities in the Berkshires. Working together, public and private interests can ensure economic opportunity for all citizens throughout the region while successfully preserving the Berkshires' quality of life.

• Create and sustain an atmosphere of partnership between the public and private sectors which recognizes their joint roles in investing resources to stimulate continuous, diverse, and environmentally responsible economic development.
• Provide access and opportunity for job training and retraining, and encourage the retention and creation of good jobs both to stem the population loss of people with roots in the Berkshires and attract new and younger people to the regional workforce.
• Encourage a variety of economic development strategies suited to the varied needs of communities throughout the region in order to maintain the fiscal integrity of all the region's cities and towns.
• Promote local fiscal stability and regional growth planning as a means of attracting private sector investment, balanced with public provision of services and financing of infrastructure and other community capital improvements.

*Model Bylaw