Time For Fairfield To Get Buffed

   Pass along your pennies and beautify a park? Buy a burger and build a bike path?

   Even when we invest minutely in our municipality, the mighty may follow. Everyday hometown purchases can pay rewards on a secret saver card. The secret is that you can save a great deal when you support your local economy. Buy American starts with buy home town; it starts with you and me.

   Small fluttering can end in a big flap and is sometimes sort of incorrectly called the butterfly effect. When dollars from local wallets wing their way to local business, they tend to not fly away and city revenues for community services increase. Capitalism works and when multiplied, the smallest investment in one’s home town will trickle both up and down.

   Recession, schmession or whatever, we are not financially fat in Fairfield. We have sliced millions out of the city budget, we’re sitting on a groaning state budget see-saw and hefty union negotiations are pending.

   Business to business or retail big ticket or small, keeping local businesses in business is everybody’s business. Sales tax revenues have fallen in Fairfield for many quarters in a row. A vibrant locally patronized retail sector is a major draw for new business investment and that benefits all. Our dollars are numismatic nectar pollinating Fairfield’s bouquet of businesses and keep all of us bearing the good fruits of working and living together. So to all those busy bees on a budget in Fairfield, I propose we begin operation BUFF-Buy Fairfield First. Remember as well, the best marketing is moving lips-tell each other to ride the BUFF bus.

   Cynthia Garcia is a talented management analyst with an eye for ingenuity who works for Eve Somjen, our new Director of Community Development. They are launching a “grass roots” plan to stimulate more local purchases and education is the cornerstone. The heck with grass roots-let’s start a prairie fire and get BUFF. Build a BUFF web site, BUFF the Jelly Belly I 80 sign–“Heh, where ya going? Get BUFF-Buy Fairfield First.” Can ya see a smiley faced Fairfield Logo with buffed biceps brandishing some bucks? Link the site to all city sites, get on cable, put posters in all businesses that join in and offer a few point discount to any patron who says “let’s BUFF Fairfield”. A discount today generates delicious dividends tomorrow

   The arts and Fairfield Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA) is a prime example. A principal goal of the Arty’s Theme Song Contest, the playwright contest, the arts consortium and the Arts Gone Wild Gala was to show that you can build broad alliances and make money and joy even when the budget boat is rocking and the engine is wheezing on four dollar a gallon fumes.

   If the council does the right thing and funds the arts grants wisely as recommended by the Cultural Arts Awards Committee, FCCA will be bustling with people. That starts with “P” and that rhymes with “C” and that stands for cash. Owing to the council granting free rent, more cash carrying folks will be around FCCA than ever before. Post the rehearsal and performance schedule on the BUFF web site, give this pubic data to the local businesses, and set up local discounts and coupons to retail and theatre. Imagine if the FCCA had a web site, on line ticketing and emboldened management.

   The Daily Republic could probably get on the BUFF bus as well by helping out on advertising. Stimulated businesses buy ads. All non profits should get on board also because discretionary dollars funneled to them do so only after the homestead coffers are full.

   Penny passers and burger buyers alike, get on the BUFF bus. Call Cynthia Garcia at 428 7041 and see how you can help Fairfield help itself. Investing your retail dollars locally collectively is in essence investing in us.

©Kevin P Ryan 2008