Abbeville participates in Louisiana Development Ready Community Program

The City of Abbeville is partnering with Louisiana Economic Development (LED) to build an Economic Development plan for Abbeville.
The Louisiana Development Ready Community (LDRC) program is designed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Abbeville and provide community leaders with clear direction on specific resources needed to foster successful economic development while increasing collaboration between municipal, parish, regional and state economic development practitioners. Upon completion of this process, the LDRC certification will put Abbeville in the forefront for businesses looking to invest in Louisiana.
“I believe in taking a proactive approach to attracting and retaining businesses in Abbeville.” Committee Chair Councilwoman Roslyn White said, “Through the LDRC program, we will build a plan to improve our business climate and better leverage ourselves to grow our economy.”
LED identifies twenty indicators to gauge the economic development readiness of a community, and identify a community’s stage of development as emerging, developing, or achieving. Once readiness is determined, the LDRC team will collaborate directly with the Abbeville team to identify potential improvement opportunities and to utilize resources available to strengthen economic development capacity. 
The first step toward achieving certification is to complete a comprehensive community assessment that Abbeville can later use for strategic planning. Next, LED surveys the community to gauge where the city currently is and identify areas that Abbeville should focus on improving.
Mayor Mark Piazza says, “I hope that businesses and the citizens of Abbeville take the time to fill out this survey. We are hoping to get a complete survey that renders opinions throughout all segments of the population and businesses. This survey is important moving us forward and making long range plans for our future.”
Once the survey is complete, LED will analyze the results and present possible goals. The city will then host a town hall meeting to gain feedback from the community. LED will take all information gathered and write a strategic plan for economic improvement. This will be the city’s “Roadmap for Progress.” Finally, the City of Abbeville will get to work executing the steps to grow a sustainable economy in Abbeville. LDRC communities can show progress from year to year because of developed measurements identified in their plans; much like mile-markers on a roadmap.  
If you would like to help plan the future of Abbeville, please complete the community survey at www.SurveyAbbeville.com. It takes about 15 minutes to complete. Please know that your input is valuable, and your participation is greatly appreciated.