Sussex business chief's shock exit stuns bosses
4:30pm Tuesday 22nd May 2012 in News By Bill Gardner
Business leaders have reacted with shock after Sussex’s chamber of commerce announced the departure of its chief executive.
Sussex Enterprise last night announced that after an “extensive review of all operations”, boss Mark Froud would be “moving on to new challenges”.
Trevor Freeman, chairman of Brighton’s Federation of Small Businesses, said he was “very surprised” by the news.
He said: “I personally thought that Mark did a really good job. He was excellent at what he did.
“We had noticed that he had stopped coming down to the local economic partnership meetings so we were wondering what was going on.
“But you always knew where you were with Mark and it’s certainly a shame that he’s gone.”
Mr Froud led Sussex Enterprise for almost ten years after first joining in 1996 as director of economic research.
In 2001 he became director of policy responsible for planning and media relations before becoming chief executive in 2002.
When the coalition government scrapped regional development agencies, Sussex Enterprise lost a contract to deliver advisory services and a large chunk of its income.
Mr Froud caused controversy in February when he said residents and businesses in East Sussex had “lower aspirations” than those in West Sussex.
Peter Jones, chairman of East Sussex County Council, said he had disagreed with Mr Froud on many occasions but was sad to see him go. He said: “When he said what he said about East Sussex we had a face-to-face conversation and sorted it out. That’s the way it was with Mark. He has put a lot of effort into his work so I’m surprised that he has gone.
“But I would say that in Sussex we are seeing a resurgence of local chambers of commerce so I think Sussex Enterprise now has to find a real role for itself.”
A Sussex Enterprise spokeswoman said: “Sussex Enterprise has over the last few months undertaken an extensive review of all operations and concluded that major changes are needed to re-emphasise and expand our core membership services.
“In today’s difficult trading conditions companies of all sizes need the opportunities to come together regularly and share information, learn from each other and find new ways to improve their businesses.
“Mark Froud who led the organisation for many years will be moving on to new challenges and we all wish him well.”
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
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Source: www.independent.co.uk
Sussex draft budget has no tax increase - Delaware Wave
REHOBOTH BEACH -- The 197,145 residents of Sussex County should not expect a tax increase, as the first draft of the county's fiscal year 2013 budget was introduced to council Tuesday, May 22.
This was just one of many tidbits that Sussex County administrator Todd Lawson shared with members of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, as he spoke about the financial shape of the county.
And despite the revenue from the Realty Transfer Tax going down about 6.65 percent from fiscal year 2012 and about two-thirds of the 2005 figure, Lawson said the county is in good shape.
"We will have a balanced budget and there will be no tax increases this year," he said. "I made sure I didn't do that on my first watch. We haven't raised taxes in Sussex for over 20 years, so I didn't want to do it in my first five months."
The FY2013 budget, which is at approximately $139 million, will be introduced this week to the Sussex County Council. Lawson said it's broken down to $51 million for operating costs, $34 million for water and sewer costs and $55 for long term capital improvements.
"It's a pretty robust operation," he said, adding that there are 500 employees spread across the county.
Lawson said it is important to pay attention to what he called the three p's: be prepared, be ready to promote what is in the county and protect what the county already has, namely the agriculture and tourism industries.
"It seems pretty simple, but when you put it into an active mode, it's very important," he said. "We have a robust local economy and hopefully we'll see that bounce back even further, but we need to be prepared when other businesses are looking to move in or when businesses that are currently here are looking to expand."
One project taking place is extending the runway at the Georgetown Airport by 1,000 feet, a project that Lawson said is the single biggest infrastructure project in the history of the county.
Not only will the extension allow for bigger planes, which could attract additional businesses -- the county is in talks with FedEx and Lawson said the company is interested in establishing a Georgetown hub if the infrastructure is there -- but it will also re-route Truck Route 9 to create a true bypass around Georgetown, an area that Lawson said can be "a pretty bad bottleneck." for those traveling to and from the beach via Route 404.
Lawson said the project will stimulate $48 million of total output over the range of the project and create 304 jobs. The tentative schedule has the first 500 feet of the extension done this summer.
Chamber President and CEO Carol Everhart said he thought Lawson was clear and concise, informing members about the status of the county and what needs to be done in the future.
"Everything depends on our economic development," she said. "Whether it's tourism, agro-tourism or some other kind of business, that has to be foremost in the mind of anyone who is running a county budget."
On Twitter @JonBleiweis
Source: www.delmarvanow.com
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