Mobile, Chickasaw Among 12 Communities Picked for Alabama League’s 2027 Economic Development Academy

MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile and Chickasaw are among 12 Alabama cities and towns chosen for the 2027 class of the Alabama League of Municipalities’ Economic Development Academy, a yearlong program that trains local elected officials and community leaders to recruit and keep business and industry.

The league announced the new class on Tuesday, Oct. 20, during its annual graduation and awards ceremonies at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center. The communities selected range from small towns to some of the state’s larger cities.

The 2027 class

The communities named to the academy’s 2027 class are:

• Argo
• Chickasaw
• Eutaw
• Fayette
• Fort Deposit
• Jasper
• Mobile
• Opp
• Pinson
• Rehobeth
• Selma
• Tarrant

The list stretches from the Birmingham suburbs of Pinson and Tarrant to the Black Belt communities of Eutaw, Fort Deposit and Selma, and from Rehobeth in the Wiregrass to Opp in Covington County. Mobile and Chickasaw give Mobile County two participants in the class.

“The League had overwhelming interest in our Economic Development Academy this year, and we are very pleased to announce we have selected these 12 communities, of various sizes, to take the next step in building their economic development and retention strategies,” said Greg Cochran, the league’s executive director. “This program has not only grown over the past five years, but we have helped 49 communities recruit and retain business and industry.”

How the academy works

The league created the Economic Development Academy in 2021 in partnership with the Alabama Community College System. Its purpose is to educate and engage municipal officials on the essential elements and phases of economic development, from preparing a community for growth to working with prospective employers.

Each participating community can send a team of up to seven people. Teams may include mayors, council members, city administrators, city clerks, economic developers, business leaders and others involved in local growth. The academy groups elected officials with municipal peers from their region, so leaders from nearby towns can learn from one another and compare approaches.

Over the course of the year, participants meet four times to complete assignments and develop strategies to strengthen economic development in their communities. The program uses a collaborative approach, with teams working through issues together rather than simply attending lectures.

The academy ends with a practical requirement. Each municipality must carry out a community program or project and report on its progress. Communities that finish the program are recognized at the league’s annual graduation and awards ceremonies each fall and receive a certification from both the league and the Alabama Community College System.

What participants study

When the academy’s first class graduated in 2022, the league described a curriculum built around best practices in economic and community development. Topics included the role elected officials play in evaluating tax abatements, the legal processes and implications of economic development deals, marketing a community, gauging community expectations and workforce development.

That first class held its sessions at community and technical colleges around the state, reflecting the role the two-year college system plays in training workers for new and expanding employers. Graduation requirements for that class included completing an economic vitality survey of the community, finishing a community assessment or project, and attending all sessions.

The inaugural class included 129 municipal officials from 27 communities and graduated in November 2022 at the league’s Municipal Leadership Institute in Orange Beach. Selma, Tarrant and Opp were among the communities listed in that first group, and all three appear again in the 2027 class.

Why economic development training matters for cities

In Alabama, a large share of the work of landing a new plant, distribution center or retail development falls to local governments. City councils approve zoning and infrastructure, and municipal leaders often sit at the table with state economic developers when a company is weighing a site. Local officials may be asked to consider incentives such as tax abatements, to extend water and sewer lines, or to improve roads leading to an industrial park.

Those decisions carry long-term consequences for a city’s budget and tax base, and many of the people making them are part-time elected officials with other careers. Programs such as the academy are designed to give them a working knowledge of how deals come together, what questions to ask and how to prepare a community before a prospect arrives.

Business retention is part of the focus, too. Keeping and growing existing employers is often as important to a community as recruiting new ones, and the academy’s emphasis on “retention strategies,” as Cochran put it, reflects that.

The Mobile and Chickasaw connection

Mobile, the state’s largest port city, has a long track record of large industrial projects, including the Airbus aircraft assembly operations at the Brookley Aeroplex, Austal USA’s shipyard on the Mobile River and ongoing growth at the Port of Mobile. The city also has a full-time economic development apparatus, including the Mobile Chamber, which recently became Alabama’s only nationally accredited economic development organization.

Chickasaw, a smaller city just north of Mobile along the Mobile River, grew up around shipbuilding in the World War I and World War II eras. Its participation will give its leaders a chance to work through economic development questions alongside peers from other communities.

The academy’s mix of large and small communities is intentional. The league has said the program is meant for communities “of various sizes,” and teams from very different places often face similar questions about infrastructure, workforce and how to make the most of limited staff and budgets.

About the Alabama League of Municipalities

The Alabama League of Municipalities is a nonpartisan membership association that has worked to strengthen municipal government in the state since 1935. It represents more than 450 incorporated cities and towns and advocates for local governments at the Alabama Legislature and in Washington.

Beyond advocacy, the league provides legal guidance to its members, runs a Certified Municipal Official training program, publishes the Alabama Municipal Journal and operates several programs for cities and towns, including insurance, workers’ compensation and revenue services. The Economic Development Academy is one of its newer training efforts.

The league’s gathering in Mobile this week also drew statewide political attention. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for governor, spoke to mayors and council members at the conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and told them state government under his leadership would “stay out of your business,” a remark that hinted at support for greater home rule for Alabama cities.

About the Alabama Community College System

The Alabama Community College System oversees the state’s public two-year colleges, which offer academic transfer programs, technical training and workforce development courses. Its colleges work with employers across the state to train workers for specific industries, which makes the system a natural partner for local leaders trying to show prospective companies that a trained workforce is available.

What comes next

The 2027 class will meet over the coming year, completing assignments and developing local strategies. Each of the 12 communities will be expected to carry out a project and report on its results before graduating at the league’s ceremonies next fall.

Residents who want to know more about their city’s participation can contact their mayor’s office or city hall. Information about the league and its programs is available at almonline.org.