Article source for : Economic Development in Toledo-Lucas County
February 2008 "presentation":http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/LCBlog/UserFiles/1/documents/LCIC%20Powerpoint.pdf [PDF file] by Lucas County Commissioner "Ben Konop":http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/lcblog/default.aspx?OfficialID=1.
h3. 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"*
h3. 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*
h3. 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*
h3. Why? What?
Why are these cities consistently, economically outperforming Toledo-Lucas County?
What are their models for economic development?
h3. 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
h3. 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
h3. 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
h3. 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
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h3. 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
h3. 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.
h3. Conclusions
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br. 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
h3. Where do we go from here?
POLITICS AS USUAL?
or
DO WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO CHANGE?
tag=toledo
tag=lucascounty
tag=economy
