Gadsden will maintain its Metropolitan Statistical Area status following a decision Tuesday by the Office of Management and Budget.
Earlier this year, a committee of representatives from federal statistical agencies had recommended that the OMB change its population threshold for MSA statusfrom 50,000 in the area’s core city to 100,000. (Gadsden’s MSA encompasses Etowah County.)
The committee had insisted the change — which along with Gadsden would have downgraded Anniston, Auburn, Daphne, Decatur, Dothan, Fairhope, Florence, Foley, Muscle Shoals, Opelika and Oxford to micropolitan status — would only be for statistical purposes and would not impact any federal funding.
However, officials in those cities (some of whom now have less than 50,000 population, but are grandfathered in to their MSA status) feared otherwise, and that also it would affect business and industrial recruitment efforts. https://933bded960efd6ea882f9b1ff7f11570.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Renee Baker, Gadsden’s Community Development planner, told The Times in March that she feared the potential impact to the Community Development Block Grant program.
The proposal prompted bipartisan opposition in Congress.
A news release from the OMB said the committee revised its recommendation following a public comment period, favoring retention of the 50,000 threshold. However, the agency acknowledged the committee’s concerns that the figure hasn’t kept pace with population growth, and promised “research and stakeholder outreach” before the standards face their next update in 2030.
“Keeping the designation at 50,000 ensures that critical funding streams will not be cut off for vital programs,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “Since OMB first announced the proposal to double the threshold, I have been speaking with Alabamians about the detrimental impact it would have on their communities, and I am glad that it never came to fruition.”
Tuberville joined Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in introducing legislation to block the OMB move. Your stories live here.Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it.Create Account
Heather Brothers New, president and CEO of The Chamber of Gadsden & Etowah County, notified members of the development in an email. She said Chambers of Commerce throughout the U.S. were united in their opposition to raising the threshold, and said the reversal “shows how powerful the voice of business can be.”
Renee Baker, Gadsden’s Community Development planner, told The Times in March that she feared the potential impact to the Community Development Block Grant program.
The proposal prompted bipartisan opposition in Congress.
A news release from the OMB said the committee revised its recommendation following a public comment period, favoring retention of the 50,000 threshold. However, the agency acknowledged the committee’s concerns that the figure hasn’t kept pace with population growth, and promised “research and stakeholder outreach” before the standards face their next update in 2030.
“Keeping the designation at 50,000 ensures that critical funding streams will not be cut off for vital programs,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. “Since OMB first announced the proposal to double the threshold, I have been speaking with Alabamians about the detrimental impact it would have on their communities, and I am glad that it never came to fruition.”
Tuberville joined Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in introducing legislation to block the OMB move.
To read more from the Gadsten Times, click here.
