Hugh McDonald was the guest speaker at the annual Bradley County Economic Development Corporation Board on Monday, January 29, 2024. McDonald is the Secretary of the Department of Commerce and was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023. He served as president and chief executive of Entergy Arkansas from 2000 until his retirement in 2016. McDonald spoke on the current economy and how the Department of Commerce didn’t exist until 2019. When the Transformation Act was passed, nine different agencies consolidated and formed the Department of Commerce. McDonald also presented some facts about inflation and tax cuts.
“Inflation in December was .3 percent, which is half of what it was in August,” McDonald said.
McDonald said that the two tax cuts that the legislature approved brought the personal income tax down to 4.4 percent and overall Arkansas comes in at number 15 as a state.
BCEDC Director Dr. Bob Smalling called for the election of officers. There were no new nominations, and the vote was unanimous.
Warren Mayor Greg Reep said that the city council had recently approved the contract with Scenic Solar to construct a new solar facility that will be used solely for the city facilities.
“We’re hoping that this will save us a considerable amount of money,” Reep said.
Reep also said that the Warren School District has also signed a contract with the same solar company.
The next meeting will be February 26, 2024.
