In 1999, the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce selected Market Street Services, an Atlanta based community and economic development consulting firm, to assist with the development of a comprehensive economic development strategy for Carroll County. After completing an extensive analysis that included a Demographic and Economic Analysis, Community Capacity Assessment, Target Cluster Analysis, and extensive public input, Market Street, with guidance from the steering committee, created the Carroll Tomorrow Economic Development Strategy. The strategy outlined five goals and 37 action steps focused on improving the economy, business climate, and overall quality of life in Carroll County. The strategy also led to the creation of Carroll Tomorrow, the organization charged with assuring that the community continuously worked towards the goals that they helped create.
In 2007, the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Carroll Tomorrow requested that Market Street update the 2000 strategy. Research gathered during Carroll County’s strategic planning process revealed a community that is effectively leveraging its assets to diversify its economic base, support a growing workforce and improve quality of life. Despite these tremendous efforts, the data and community input gathered for the Community Assessment report suggest that it is time for Carroll to reassess where resources and energy are directed.
Carroll United is a community and economic development action plan for Carroll County that will help bring the community together by focusing resources on key issues that are important to Carroll County stakeholders. The strategies outlined in 2000 are still important to the wellbeing of the community and the resources needed for those efforts to continue must be recommitted. With the development and evolution experienced by Carroll over the past eight years, new action and program priorities are needed to assure that the community continues to develop into one of West Georgia’s most dynamic models for quality growth.
The following Action Plan covers the five areas that Carroll County residents have decided are the most important for their future:
