I had a conversation on Tuesday with a key leader in Blacksburg who was unaware of Blacksburg's second economy--the professional and technical businesses in Blacksburg. Many of those businesses are located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, and here's the key fact that has not been discussed much by some of the candidates running for Blacksburg's Town Council: There are more people working in the CRC than are faculty and staff employed at Virginia Tech.
When you add in fast-growing companies like Rackspace and Modea that are already too big for the CRC, you begin to recognize that these businesses are important to Blacksburg's future. It's past time to start acknowledging that Blacksburg's business community provides more than 40% of the Town's tax revenue.
Without a vibrant business sector in Blacksburg, the Town won't have the funds to support green innovation, energy conservation, and land conservation. We need candidates that recognize that Town spending initiatives are supported in large part by taxes on businesses. We need candidates like Greg Fansler, Krisha Chachra, and Tom Rogers, who recognize that to keep Blacksburg "a special place," Blacksburg's second economy needs the right incentives to start and grow businesses in the town.
