Economic Development in Toledo-Lucas County

February 2008 presentation [PDF file] by Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop.

Long Term Economic Trends

• The Center on Urban Research and Public Policy used studied the economic vitality of "Rust Belt" cities
• The 15 most economically vulnerable cities were separated into tiers based on socio-economic indicators
• Tier One cities were considered "stable": Grand Rapids, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Columbus, OH; Akron, OH; and Allentown, PA
• Toledo was ranked among cities in the bottom tier considered economically "devastated"

Short Term Economic Status

• The Brookings Institution looked at 305 American cities and found older industrial cities were lagging behind
• Those 305 cities were ranked by economic condition:
  Columbus, OH #122
  Indianapolis, IN #149
  Grand Rapids, MI #171
  Akron, OH #217
  Allentown, PA #248
  Toledo, OH #261

Present Economic Status

• Forbes recently released its list of the Best Cities for Jobs in 2008
• Out of the 100 largest American cities:
  Indianapolis, IN #6
  Allentown, PA #30
  Columbus, OH #52
  Akron, OH #68
  Grand Rapids, MI #82
  Toledo, OH #91

Why? What?

Why are these cities consistently, economically outperforming Toledo-Lucas County?

What are their models for economic development?

Toledo-Lucas County

"Let me count thy ways"

• LCIC is governed by a 27 member Board, which is composed of over 90% politicians and is 100% publicly funded
• The Port Authority supports business development through bonds and loans
• The City of Toledo has a Department of Development which manages grants, loans, and tax incentives
• The Oregon Economic Development Foundation provides financing, site selection and data services
• The City of Maumee has an administrator who supervises tax incentives and grants
• The Sylvania Area Community Improvement Corporation (SACIC) is a joint venture between the city, township and Sylvania Chamber of Commerce
• SACIC is governed by a majority of private representatives
• The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACG) is the governmental partner of choice to coordinate regional assets, opportunities and challenges
• TMACG is 100% governed by public officials.
• Northwest Ohio Regional Economic Development (NORED) is a 12-county alliance to facilitate job creation, retention, capital investment and competitive business climate in Northwest Ohio
• NORED is governed by a Board of over 70% government representatives
• Regional Growth Partnership is a private sector economic development company providing information, financing, marketing and more
• Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce is a privately funded entity whose business resources include financial, marketing and management assistance through several programs and associations

Indianapolis-Marion County

• Since 1996, the City of Indianapolis and Marion County have shared a website, IndyGov
• All public and private economic development organizations are accessible through the IndyGov’s Economic Development Portal
• The Economic Development Portal opens to seven links – without regard for state or local ownership – divided by purpose: life sciences, site finding, urban strategies, cultural tourism, downtown, the Indy Partnership, and the Chamber of Commerce
• Marion County does not have an internal economic development vehicle, it relies on the private Indy Partnership
• The City of Indianapolis has an economic development section under the Director of Metropolitan Development and works with Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc. – a division of Indy Partnership
• The City’s economic development section makes recommendations to the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC), composed of city and county appointees
• The primary function of MDC is to adopt and amend the General Land Use Plan for Marion County
• Indy Partnership is the primary vehicle for regional development and a significant means of city development
• The Partnership seeks development in the 10-county region of central Indiana surrounding Indianapolis
• Less than 20% of the Indy Partnership’s Board of Directors represent government agencies
• The majority of Indy Partnership funding is private investment
• The goals of all the region’s economic development groups are tied together by the Regional Center Plan 2020 (RCP)
• RCP was developed by a 300-stakeholder process and developed as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan in 2004
• RCP was prepared by the City of Indianapolis in collaboration
  with the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., and Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning
• The plan’s key priorities: life science community, neighborhoods, multimodal transportation, tourism and cultural development, and urban design

Grand Rapids-Kent County

• Kent County does not have an internal economic development department
• The City of Grand Rapids has an Economic Development Office which administers financing and tax incentive programs for the city
• The Economic Development Commission is a 9 member board, appointed by the mayor, which works with the Planning Commission to ensure efforts are consistent with the City’s Master Plan
• Nearly 90% of the Economic Development Commission members are private sector representatives
• The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce assists new and existing businesses through financing opportunities and counseling services
• The City’s Economic Development Office utilizes links to the Chamber of Commerce website

Columbus-Franklin County

• Franklin County has an Economic Development and Planning Department, headed by a Director
• The economic development section provides grants and inducements to leverage public sector incentives, private investment and technical assistance
• The City of Columbus has an Office of Development which contains an Economic Development Division and a Downtown Development Office
• The City’s Economic Development Division offers tax incentives, grants, loans, and makes site referrals
• The City’s Downtown Development Office offers tax incentives, utilities credits, and infrastructure funding to market downtown Columbus for residential and business development
• The Downtown Development Office partners with private non-profit organizations Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) and Capital Crossroads
• CDDC Board of Directors is made up of senior business and institutional leaders
• Capital Crossroads Board of Directors has no government officials, and is privately funded by downtown property owners
• Columbus Chamber of Commerce offers resources for site selection, tax and financing incentives, economic strategy, business services, connecting with investors, and workforce development

Allentown-Lehigh County

• Lehigh County Department of Community and Economic Development administers grants, but refers all applicants to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC)
• Allentown Department of Community and Economic Development administers grants, but also utilizes external resources – namely LVEDC and the Chamber of Commerce
• Chamber of Commerce is an independent entity, but has a seat on the Board of LVEDC
• Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation is the primary economic development resource for the region
• The LVEDC is governed by a Executive Officers, an Executive Committee, and a Board of Directors
• The majority of LVEDC leadership is private
• LVEDC offers site selection, incentives, financial programs, and workforce development services
• LVEDC is funded by a mix of private investment, public investment and fee-based revenue

Akron-Summit County

• Summit County’s has a Department of Community and Economic Development, headed by a Director
• The Director oversees the Economic Development Task Force (EDTF) and the Summit Business Partnership
• EDTF and the Business Partnership conduct outreach through a team of municipal, county, and state economic development providers and handle grants and incentives
• Other aspects of Summit County economic development are outsourced to private entities like ProCure (site selection).
• The City of Akron’s internal economic development device is the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development
• The Mayor’s Office works with the Chamber of Commerce, County Economic Development and the Port Authority to facilitate relocation, development, and referrals for counseling services
• The Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce is the a leading source of economic development in the region
• Privately funded, the Chamber provides site selection services, information, liaison to local governments and financing programs.

Conclusions

Why has Toledo-Lucas County consistently fallen behind the economic development of other mid-western industrial cities, despite sharing common characteristics of population size, infrastructure and dependence on manufacturing?

• Deficiencies in our economic development system:
  • Too many politicians at the table
  • Lack of streamlined internal support
  • Redundancy
  • Lack of focused/overarching vision
• Economic development models in Midwest-Rustbelt states that are wining are characterized by:
  • Private leadership
  • Streamlined internal support
  • Redundancies are avoided
  • Focused regional strategies
• Continued Flaws of LCIC
  • Lack of transparency/accountability
  • Lack of community financial buy in
  • Redundancy (Port authority/City of Toledo)
  • Lack of results

Where do we go from here?

POLITICS AS USUAL?

or

DO WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO CHANGE?