Mayor Jim Schmitt aims to guard Green Bay name

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt would like to protect the city's name as a brand, and he is taking his efforts to the U.S. Postal Service.

The mayor has asked the U.S. Postal Service to consider recoding the area ZIP codes to reflect what is the city of Green Bay and what is not.

The Postal Service will consider the suggestion and issue a decision in late May, according to spokeswoman Vic Dubina of the post office's Great Lakes district. Dubina wouldn't speculate about the chances but said it's important to recognize the purpose of the ZIP code is to help the Postal Service move the mail, even though "a lot of people use ZIPs for other than their intended purposes."

Schmitt's effort is aimed at protecting the Green Bay name as a brand, especially when the city is competing with its neighbors for a big development project.

He complained recently that area communities often bill themselves as being Green Bay to attract new business, and he wrote a letter to Howard Village President Burt McIntyre to stop the practice.

"Howard's use of the Green Bay name creates confusion amongst residents and businesses as to their actual connection to Green Bay," Schmitt wrote. "Therefore, Howard needs to make a decision, either to go independent using solely the Howard name or consolidate with Green Bay.

"I will support either direction; however the current status is resulting in higher economic development payouts and unfair practices. This issue needs to be resolved."

Schmitt's letter drew a defensive response from Ashwaubenon Village President Mike Aubinger, who addressed it in a weekly newspaper column.

The greater Green Bay area helped make Green Bay great, and all area communities benefit when one of them scores a big development project from outside Brown County, Aubinger argued.

Schmitt said he never intended to launch an us-versus-them battle with Green Bay's neighbors.

"I didn't choose to make this public," Schmitt told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "I thought we (Schmitt and McIntyre) were talking about it confidentially, and I'm disappointed the letter came to you."

Schmitt said he's glad to be an advocate for the greater Green Bay area and wants the communities to work together for their mutual benefit. But it's frustrating that when competitive bidding comes up, Green Bay's one big advantage ? that of superior name recognition ? isn't useful, Schmitt said.

"We all have our advantages," he said. "Howard has Highway 29, Bellevue has 43, Ashwaubenon has 41. It's when a value you have is used by someone else. ? It's not a value when Howard offers the same name."

Foreign companies come to the area to locate in Green Bay but then are offered competitive incentives by surrounding communities that aren't Green Bay but can claim to be, thanks in part to the fact that they don't have their own post offices and therefore share ZIP codes with their better-known neighbor, Schmitt said.

That kind of competition ends up costing Green Bay taxpayers money, because surrounding communities can offer values and incentives like lower tax rates or even free land, forcing Green Bay to offer even more to remain competitive, Schmitt said.

McIntyre said he sympathizes with Schmitt's point of view, but the use of the Green Bay name is a reality that won't go away.

"The name Green Bay has a certain advantage," he said. "I've traveled all over the world, and when I said I was from Howard, everybody would give me a blank look, but when I said Green Bay, it would click.

"But when I talk Green Bay, I'm not talking the city, I'm talking the region," McIntyre said. "I think the mayor understands that, but he's just looking for any advantage he can get."

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