Geise argues job creation important, not only goal
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MAYVILLE - The top person who oversees economic development for Chautauqua County says he believes there are many factors to seeing the county flourish.
Job creation is one piece of the puzzle, but it's not the only piece.
On Wednesday, the county legislature's Planning and Economic Development Committee discussed if they believe job creation should be the top priority of the county.
To discuss the issue with the committee was Mark Geise, who is both the Deputy County Executive for Economic Development as well as the Chief Executive Officer for the county Industrial Development Agency.
Last month, Legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, introduced legislation that would declare job creation the number one economic development goal of county government.
Instead of voting on it, the legislature sent the resolution to committee for review, something Larson opposed.
To begin the discussion, Geise gave a four-minute presentation entitled "Economic development is about jobs and the conditions that make them possible."
In the presentation, Geise noted that private sector jobs provide opportunities for families, support local businesses, strengthen the tax base and contribute to vibrant communities. "Creating new jobs and preserving existing employment must remain one of Chautauqua County's most important economic objectives," he said.
According to Geise, the county IDA has helped create nearly 4,000 permanent and temporary construction jobs over the past five years and retained more than 5,800 existing positions. "During that same period the CCIDA has played a central role in advancing projects that together will generate almost 2 billion - that's billion with a 'b' - dollars in investment within our county," he said.
But even so, Geise believes job creation doesn't tell the whole story.
Geise compared job creation to running a farm. "A competitive business climate, skilled workforce, sufficient housing, reliable infrastructure, strong communities, and a stable tax base are the conditions that make the harvest possible," he said.
Geise continued, saying private business, entrepreneurs, and investors create jobs, not county government or the IDA.
"The role of the Chautauqua County government, the CCIDA and our various economic development partners, is to help create those conditions, reduce barriers to investment, and position Chautauqua County to compete," he said.
Geise said their strategy for economic development is five inter-connected priorities: business development, workforce development, housing, infrastructure, and place-making. "These priorities do not compete with job creation. They make sustainable job growth more likely," he said.
Geise said in his experience, along with financial incentives, potential employers look at things like housing, broadband, water, sewer, transportation, energy capacity, educational partnerships, and development-ready sites and buildings.
At the same time, potential employees will evaluate job opportunities by looking at recreational activities, the local schools, affordability, and quality of life.
"A company cannot expand if it cannot fill open positions," he said.
Geise believes that economic development projects should be judged by their full economic and community impact, not just new jobs.
"We should continue measuring permanent jobs created and existing jobs retained, but we should also measure private investment, construction activity PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) revenue, housing units, properties returned to productive use, businesses assisted, infrastructure improved, workers trained, place-making enhancements, grants secured, and residents attracted or retained," he said.
LEGISLATORS COMMENT
Committee Chairman Tom Harmon, R-Silver Creek, handed out a working document which he proposed to replace Larson's resolution. He said he created it with Geise's assistance.
The Planning and Economic Development Committee, which did not have any Democratic legislators in attendance at the meeting, discussed various changes to Harmon's revised resolution.
Legislator Fred Johnson, R-Westfield, called the original resolution politically motivated.
"This is political football here. Basically (they're) trying to say here is Republicans are tight-fisted and we don't care about creating jobs. OK, fine. We all know what that game's all about," he said.
Johnson argued that the county should focus on increasing residents' disposable income. He proposed changing the resolution's title from job creation to "declaring sustainable economic development" as the county's number one goal.
Legislator John Penhollow, R-Stockton, stated that while he believes while job creation is important, it's not the only important issue.
"Jobs mean almost everything ... but jobs are not the single most (important)," he said.
Legislator Jason Merritt, R-Sheridan, added that there aren't a lot of qualified people to take the jobs that are available.
"Some of those applicants you get, sadly, a great number aren't qualified to tie their own shoes," he said.
The committee approved the modified resolution, but Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, said Larson's resolution will need to be considered first. If that is voted down or if Larson withdraws his original resolution, then the full legislature can consider the revised resolution approved by the committee.
The full legislature will be meeting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Robert H. Jackson Center.