Anniston Star
October 3, 2003

Safety in numbers?

By Nathan Solheim
Star Staff Writer
10-03-2003

There’s about a billion reasons why local leaders want to save the Anniston Army Depot.

A new study conducted by Jacksonville State University on the Anniston Army Depot’s economic impact on Calhoun County and the surrounding counties has tabbed the installation’s total annual impact at $1,135,774,270 – a number comprised of direct depot spending, employee spending and indirect spending.

The study goes further and estimates that the Anniston Army Depot is responsible for 11 percent of the total business volume in a 361,000-person area that includes Calhoun, Etowah, Talladega and St. Clair Counties.

All those dollars trickling through the economy translate into jobs and livelihoods, pensions and fortunes, table food and bass boats.

And it’s under threat from the federal government in the form of the Base Re-Alignment and Closure Commission.

The Bush Administration announced another round of BRAC shortly after taking office in 2001.

And despite ongoing military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and continued calls from some Congressmen to cancel BRAC 2005, the administration has decided to continue to trim the nation’s military infrastructure in pursuit of a leaner, meaner military.

“I think it’s good news for the area, we have a way to show we’ve quantified what the economic impact is and people can see the true value of this installation on the area and the surrounding community,” said Nathan Hill, a consultant hired by local leaders to coordinate the area’s BRAC defense.

The study says the annual payroll of depot workers is about $324 million and that the depot is the largest single employer in the area.

As a result of such a large impact, county and municipal governments take in about $33 million in tax revenues from worker salaries or goods purchased.

Anniston Mayor Chip Howell, a staunch advocate for the depot in the BRAC process, said the study proves just how much of a ripple effect the depot’s economic impact has over the region.

And that’s one reason to fight to keep it open, he said.

“You think of the economic engine and all the attention given to Honda, and we’re glad they’re here, but what’s the employee base of Honda compared with the depot? We’ve got a Honda and a Mercedes about six miles away,” Howell said.

The depot’s economic impact on its surrounding community is less that of Alabama’s three other military installations in terms of sheer dollars. Fort Rucker near Dothan, Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery and the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville all pour more money into their local economies.

But Hill said that in terms of how much influence a military installation has on a local economy, the depot would be near the top.

“Our economy in this area is not that great, if you look at Huntsville or Montgomery, they have lots of industry already in that area,” Hill said. “The depot, if you look at the percentage, is probably the highest in the state.”

The Anniston Army Depot is the largest depot within the Army. It’s closest rival, the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Tex., is half its size.

Depot workers repair most every tracked vehicle in the Army’s current inventory as well as provide final assembly of the Army’s newest vehicular program, the Stryker.

The study says there are 18,045 jobs directly related to the depot or through contractors, who work on the tanks, Strykers and other weapons programs. 4,969 people are direct employees of the depot.

Each dollar those employees spend rolls over about 2.2 times in the local economy.

The study said employee-related deposits in local banks results in $96 million of credit base to local financial institutions

But local officials say there’s more to the story than that.

Sherri Sumners, the president of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, said the study gives local BRAC forces some ammunition in making the case for the depot.

An installation’s economic impact is considered as a factor in determining whether the installation remains open, Sumners said.

“It helps us gain awareness here in and in Montgomery and in Washington, D.C., on the importance of keeping it open,” Sumners said.

Local efforts to save the depot have expanded.

Sumners said membership in Friends of the Depot – a community organization established to protect the depot – has shot up to nearly 2,000 members.

Hill will continue campaigning for more membership this weekend at Oxfordfest.

The BRAC effort continues to receive money from local municipalities and counties to fund the BRAC effort.

“When we’re looking and talking to people in the community and in the political process, it does show a significant impact,” Hill said. “And it basically supports us when we say the depot is the economic engine for this area.”