A New Day For Delaware County: Economic Development and Community Revitalization

By David Landau

Delaware County is a great place to live and to work. We have a tremendous number of resources for a growing business environment: Public transportation, the airport, thirteen outstanding universities, colleges, and trade schools. Yet our economy is slipping behind our neighboring counties. County government must provide the leadership to inject new vigor in Delaware County's economy, attract new businesses, and entice skilled workers to those businesses to move this county forward.

Delaware County is a great place to live and to work. We have a tremendous number of resources for a growing business environment: Public transportation, the airport, thirteen outstanding universities, colleges, and trade schools. Yet our economy is slipping behind our neighboring counties. County government must provide the leadership to inject new vigor in Delaware County's economy, attract new businesses, and entice skilled workers to those businesses to move this county forward. Our current county government is simply not getting the job done. Their piecemeal approach has attracted a new larger employer here and there. Yet, there is no comprehensive plan for sustainable economic growth. David Landau will provide the leadership and the vision to get Delaware County's economy moving.

THE PROBLEM

According to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Statistics, Delaware County lost over 8000 net jobs from 1998-2005. In addition to this job attrition, over 600 private businesses have left Delaware County in the past three years, including 20% of our local manufacturing establishments. Moreover, since 1987, the number of jobs in Delaware County has increased by 12%, less than half of the national average of 30% over the same time period.

The decline in jobs and employment opportunities is echoed by the long-term general population trends in Delaware County. The rate of population growth serves as an accurate measure of economic growth, as economic development and population growth exist in synergy. Delaware County's rate of population growth over the past 20 years has been anemic. Our population has increased by 1% over the past twenty years, below the PA rate of 5% and far below the national rate of 22%.

These numbers stand out even more when compared to our peer counties. While Delaware County's population growth hovers at about 1% over the past 20 years, our peers in the Delaware Valley have demonstrated much higher gains. Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery counties all boast a population growth rate of over 10% over the past 20 years. Not surprisingly, all of these three suburban Philadelphia counties exhibit much higher rates of job creation and subsequent total employment numbers.

A recent study by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) forecasts employment levels in 2035 based on historical workforce and population trends in the Delaware Valley counties of Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks. The forecast percent increase from 2005 to 2035 in employment in Montgomery County is 15.7%; in Chester County, 32.9%; and in Bucks County it is 23.2%. The predicted increase in employment over thirty years for Delaware County is predicted to grow by 2.5%.

DAVID'S PLAN

Delaware County needs to take a more comprehensive approach to economic development in our county, starting with the development of a comprehensive, countywide plan, much like Chester and Montgomery counties. A comprehensive plan should deal with what I call, "The 4 C's for a New Day in Delaware County."

1. Community Revitalization

First and foremost revitalizing our aging and distressed communities must become a priority.

Pennsylvania offers a number of programs suited to aid local government in community revitalization. The Governor's Center for Local Government offers consultation in areas of planning and financing through regional Community Action Teams. These Community Action Teams help guide municipalities to the programs that best fit their needs. Unfortunately, Delaware County does not utilize these resources as much as it should.

Underuse of the resources available essentially means that Delaware County is leaving money on the table. For instance, since the inception of the Pennsylvania New Communities Main Street and Elm Street programs, designed to improve streetscapes and town centers in distressed areas, Delaware County has received a meager sum of money in comparison to our sister counties.

Montgomery County: $1.612 million

Chester County: $2.581 million

Bucks County: $882,000

Delaware County: $456,000

2. Collaboration

In order to further develop resources for small businesses, Delaware County must continue to actively strive for efficient and effective partnerships with the private sector, the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, and large, well-established companies. Cooperation between the private sector and county government will allow for the procurement of low cost business loans, tax credits, training assistance, and access to expert advice and startup help.

Chester County, for example, has partnered with the Community First Fund to provide small business loans and microfinance loan solutions for small business owners. Montgomery County has partnered with S.C.O.R.E., the Service Corps of Retired Executives, in order to provide small business owners with the expertise of former businessmen at no expense. Delaware County must continue to actively pursue these partnerships to encourage small business development.

Funding is also available from the state for collaborative efforts between municipalities. Neighboring Montgomery County has received over $240,000 from the Shared Municipal Services in order to improve economic development planning coordination. Chester County received $140,000. Delaware County has received only $103,000. County government must encourage coordination and a multi-municipal approach to economic development.

3. Career Training

Delaware County must have the ability to provide skilled workers when a business is interested in relocating to Delaware County or else risk losing the company.

Like Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks counties, Delaware County must continue to partner with local community colleges and training offices to provide job training. The State Department of Community and Economic Development provides grant money through the Customized Job Training program (CJT) for which any local workforce investment board, private company, economic development agency, or other employing entity can apply. Since the program's inception Delaware County's eligible applicants have received far less money and created far fewer jobs than our peer counties:

County

Bucks $4.1 million 6143

Chester $4.8 million 4985

Montgomery $8.0 million 6007

Delaware $3.1 million 1476

Delaware County government must work harder to inform eligible applicants of the resources available. The result would be increased grant money for training, allowing for the retention of old jobs as well as the creation of new jobs. Furthermore, the county must actively and aggressively recruit businesses using programs like CJT to ensure a supply of skilled labor. Unless the county works to make businesses aware of these resources, they will simply relocate in order to find larger pools of skilled employees.

4. Commerce

Delaware County is creating jobs at a rate well below the state and national average. Statistics show that job creation in Delaware County has remained stagnant for a number of years. In 30 years, we are projected to create 2.5% more jobs than we have now, while Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester counties are all projected to have growth over 10%.

In addition, Delaware County has performed below average in developing key industry sectors. These jobs drive the 21st century economy including: High Tech, Manufacturing and Materials, Life Sciences, and Business Services, among others. Of the jobs that Delaware County is currently losing, almost 20% are manufacturing jobs. In the meantime, our peer counties are developing high tech industry clusters that grow rapidly and are sustainable in today's economy.

Delaware County must start by working to preserve the jobs that it already has. Council can facilitate job preservation through the use of state funds such as the Opportunity Grant Program. However, despite having the lowest rates of job creation and retention in the suburban Philadelphia counties, Delaware County receives only the third highest amount of funding. County government must do more to secure these funds to preserve jobs in Delaware County.

County: Grant Allocation: Jobs Preserved:

Delaware $11 million

5110

Montgomery $15 million

9140

Bucks $9.4 million

5707

Chester $32.5 million

14,994

We also must do more to attract small business to Delaware County. While our peer counties engage in collaborative efforts with non-profits like S.C.O.R.E. and the Community First Fund, small businesses in Delaware County have not benefited from similar partnerships.

The county government must act as a liaison and as a guide for small business owners by actively pursuing collaborative efforts with the state government. Then, small businesses will be able to use state and county programs concurrently, lowering their taxes and driving up their probability of success and sustainable business.

Infrastructure in Delaware County: A Proactive Instead of Reactive Approach

Delaware County is home to thousands of miles worth of roads, pipelines and sidewalks that serve essentially as the lifelines of our communities. Our infrastructure serves to keep the quality of life in Delaware County at a high level, a level which we would like to maintain and improve. We want our water to be clean, our sewage disposed of efficiently and properly, and our sidewalks and roads safe and free of potholes, cracks, and other dangerous signs of aging.

Unfortunately for Delaware County, much of our infrastructure suffers from the effects of aging and constant, heavy use due to our high population density. When added to the fact that much of the infrastructure of the region, state, and nation as a whole is beginning to reach the end of its life expectancy, it becomes clear that must make infrastructure maintenance and planning a priority in Delaware County.

Roads

The roads of Delaware County are the responsibility of each municipality in which they're located. The municipalities are therefore charged with the maintenance and upkeep of these roads and must keep them in a state of good repair. This responsibility can easily become a heavy financial burden, particularly for financially distressed communities. In Delaware County, the communities that are most likely to slip into a financially tenuous situation are the older, first generation suburbs closest to Philadelphia. The age of these municipalities means that their infrastructure is more prone to problems associated with aging, such as potholes, cracks, and general wear. The financial situation of these older municipalities often makes them a prime target for community revitalization initiatives, but without well-maintained roadways, it is difficult to attract both new business and new residents due to a reduced quality of life.

In our peer counties of Bucks, Chester and Montgomery, the county takes a leadership role not only in monitoring the streets of the county, but also in guiding municipalities in developing long-term plans. The governments of our peer counties also ensure that their municipalities reach out to regional planning commissions and state sources of funding in order to secure the funding needed to undertake large maintenance or construction projects. For instance, the state Department of Community and Economic Development offers an Infrastructure Development Program (IDP) that provides grants to businesses, counties and municipalities for the purpose of upgrading, maintaining, or constructing new infrastructure. Delaware County's funding lags far behind that of its peers:

County IDP Funding

Bucks $3.35 Million Chester $6.35 Million Montgomery $5.83 Million Delaware $2.92 MIllion

Even more disturbing than the differential in funding levels is the difference in number of municipalities in which projects were undertaken. All of Delaware County's $2.9 million went to one municipality, while our sister counties each had projects occurring in at least 4 municipalities or more.

Delaware County must step forward to act as an advocate for its municipalities and citizens in maintaining the streets of the county. The Public Works Department of Delaware County and the county Planning Department must work with municipalities in developing a plan for maintenance and construction, while the County Council must work with municipalities to ensure that they understand their options in terms of financing repairs and new construction.

The county should also take advantage of the opportunities to partner with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation while advising the municipalities of the opportunity to do so. These programs include partnerships under which a municipality or county can take on the responsibility of maintaining state-owned roads for a certain amount of money per mile per year, or through which a municipality can partner with PennDOT to provide materials while PennDOT provides personnel for a project on a state road that also affects a county road. These partnerships would allow for a municipality to ensure competitive bidding on a larger amount of work, thus decreasing the average cost per project and deriving revenue from the state to maintain its roads.

Sewers/Wastewater

Another pressing issue within our county's infrastructure concerns our sewers and our waste water management systems. Philadelphia was one of the first major cities in United States history, and as such the city itself and the surrounding areas developed at an early stage. As a result, the infrastructure of Philadelphia and the surrounding area also developed very early. Problems have since arisen in that much of our infrastructure, and our sewer systems in particular, are simply too old to handle the job entrusted to them by today's much larger suburban population. Problems like groundwater contamination, poor drainage, runoff and more have all become prevalent.