Town hall meetings to focus on impact of Army cuts on Columbus and the region

A study is underway to determine the impact of the U.S. Army’s cuts at Fort Benning on the city and surrounding region, with a couple of “town hall” gatherings scheduled this week to solicit feedback from the general public.

The meetings on Thursday and Friday, which will take place at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center, are part of an effort by the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority to ultimately develop a plan for dealing with the downsizing of the military here.

“We really want the people to come out,” Gary Jones, the chamber’s executive vice president of military affairs, said of the two meetings that will include an update from Matrix Design Group, a Denver-based consulting firm with offices across the United States.

“We want to say, here’s the general information we’re receiving to date, here’s an overview of what we’re doing and provide that to the audience, and at the same time ask for input from the audience,” Jones said of the meetings. “It’s much like when the Department of Army team came down and they gave a presentation on what they’re doing and people had the opportunity to make comments and suggestions.”

The Valley Partnership, a regional entity headed by the Columbus chamber, is receiving support from the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment. That agency helps communities experiencing both growth and losses resulting from federal decisions such as budget cuts and the relocation of facilities from one area to another.

Matrix Design Group has been hired with money from the Valley Partnership and the federal agency to gather information and put together the study, which includes the community input, Jones said. About $200,000 is being spent on the effort. There will then be recommendations made for development of a final plan to respond to the cuts.

“That final product will probably be a June-July timeframe. But we want everyone to know here’s the trends we’re seeing. Here’s the information we’re starting to garner,” said Jones, stressing the key part of the process will be the recommendations this summer. He pondered that it could mean things like changing the focus of regional workforce development or going after different types of jobs for the area.

The crux of the dilemma facing Columbus and the surrounding communities is the U.S. Army’s reduction of its troop strength from 490,000 to 450,000 due to federal budget cuts. Several brigades are being inactivated, including the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning.

The military mandated the elimination of the brigade and its 3,402 positions by the end of this fiscal year, which occurs Sept. 30. The 3rd Brigade started inactivating battalions in late 2015, with the headquarters itself scheduled to furl its unit flag colors for the final time on April 15.

Because the brigade’s battalions were not fully staffed and an additional battalion had not been activated, the actual soldier cuts at Fort Benning were reduced to about 2,400. Some soldiers also remain here because they transferred to other jobs on post, Jones said.

On top of that, a rapid-response task force of just under 1,100 soldiers also has been activated and stationed at Fort Benning’s Kelley Hill, where the 3rd Brigade was based for years. That, too, brunts the pain of the budget cuts and personnel losses, Jones said, with the new unit having a local economic impact of about $92 million per year.

“The impact of that is still huge,” the chamber executive said of the 2,400 soldiers who are leaving the area. “It’s going to impact this region about $286 million a year as a result of those people leaving once you look at the salaries and you look at the buying power.”

Aside from the 2,400 troops, Jones estimated another 2,000 family members are departing the Columbus area. He said roughly 1,000 soldiers have already left, with the remaining 1,400 heading out by early summer and taking family members with them. The effects of those exiting the region are expected to ripple throughout local school systems, pinch the tax base of local governments, and hurt businesses that rely heavily on spending by soldiers.

The town hall meetings will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m.-noon Friday at the Convention and Trade Center, inside Room 104. The overall effort has been dubbed, “Community Impacts Associated with Army Personnel Reductions.” For more information, visit www.fortbenningciar.com.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Town hall meetings to focus on impact of Army cuts on Columbus and the region."