Mayors sign no-poaching pledge

Twenty-two Jefferson County mayors — including Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato — have signed an agreement not to poach or incentivize businesses to relocate from one city to another within the county.

“This is a great moment not just for our cities but for our county as a whole,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said.

The agreement was announced in a press conference at the Jefferson County Commission chambers on April 3. Ten of the mayors were present at the press conference.

Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Ammons said those signing the pledge were leading the way in economic development and how to do business as a city. The county is the “economic engine” of Alabama, he said.

“I hesitate to just call them mayors. I call them leaders,” he said.

The voluntary agreement states that the cities will not give incentives or otherwise try to lure businesses from their neighbors. Woodfin and Mountain Brook Mayor Stewart Welch said that behavior has created the illusion of job growth for individual cities, but it is really just shuffling jobs around.

The mayors who spoke at the press conference, as well as Ammons, said cooperating in economic development will boost the county as a whole, not just individual cities.

“It’s one thing to talk about regional cooperation. It’s another to take some steps to put it into action,” Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer said. “… It’s to everyone’s benefit if Jefferson County as a whole does really well.”

Businesses can still move between cities as they choose, the mayors said, but the cities will not initiate or pursue those moves. Expansions that result in “no net loss” to the original city are exempted from the pledge.

However, the no-poaching pledge does not apply to new businesses interested in moving to the area from outside the county. In those situations, Brocato said, the cities can still compete to try to bring a new company to their area, but they want to overall encourage a positive image of Jefferson County to potential businesses.

While each mayor is “fiercely protective” of the best interests of their own cities, Brocato said, economic development now tends to favor regions that cooperate rather than compete.

The pledge also establishes a four-member advisory committee of some of the participating mayors, who will give feedback or advice in unclear situations that may arise as a result of the pledge.

Welch attributed today’s agreement to the work of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, which has been a champion of regional cooperation and facilitated the discussions that led to the pledge. Welch drafted the pledge based on similar agreements in other states.

The mayors called this a “historic” move that will build trust between cities.

“We play on the same team now, and I’m proud to be a member,” Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat said.

The cities that will participate in the no-poaching pledge include Argo, Bessemer, Birmingham, Brighton, Center Point, Clay, Fairfield, Graysville, Homewood, Hoover, Lipscomb, Midfield, Mountain Brook, Mulga, Pleasant Grove, Sylvan Springs, Tarrant, Trafford, Trussville, Vestavia Hills, Warrior and West Jefferson.