Not Exactly a Hallmark Moment

At Tuesday’s County Council meeting the democrat controlled council lead by President Mark Stoops went on the offensive again, this time against Sunrise, a division of Hallmark, one of the larger employers in the county. Their justification of this attack was centered on the failure of Sunrise to comply with terms of their tax abatement, specifically compliance with employment promises. It appears that what perpetuated their ire Tuesday was Hallmark’s failure to respond to inquiries. The obvious question is how much effort was expended to make contact with Sunrise and furthermore what if any efforts are being made to help them meet their employment goals. We certainly can ill afford giving companies like Sunrise a reason to pull up stakes especially in light of the local climate for attracting new jobs. As local companies attempt to compete in an ever increasingly competitive global marketplace it is easy to understand why large corporations are trimming their labor forces. The Council should be aware that one hundred and fifty good paying jobs at Sunrise today beats no jobs at Sunrise tomorrow, any day of the week. If they wonder why Bloomington is considered anti-business, they need look no further as our elected officials should be doing everything in their power to retain our employment base rather than chasing it away.

Council Members Marty Hawk and Trent Jones were the only voices of reason during this exchange. Hawk’s comment was “I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the jobs that are there”, and rightfully so. Jones’ commented,” Our process is broken down”, obviously referring to the process that which tax abatements are managed. Council Member Sophia Travis weighed in on the subject that Sunrise has been “systematically” cutting jobs and they have been “irresponsible” in their lack of response to the county. In my opinion she should choose her words a little more cautiously as it is this type of loose cannon that could very well be responsible for running off yet another one of our larger local employers. If Hallmark chooses to pull the plug on Sunrise you should thank our County Council, especially Stoops and Travis for managing to chase off yet another one of those capitalistic corporate types that they seem to hate so much. Isn’t it a shame we can’t all work for IU or the Government!