grow licking county economic development action plan David J. Robinson Nathan V. Green The Montrose Group, LLC February, 2018

Transcription

1 grow licking county economic development action plan David J. Robinson Nathan V. Green The Montrose Group, LLC February, 2018

2 acknowledgments This plan was funded by generous donations through the Defense Manufacturing Assistance Program, locally managed by the Ohio Manufacturing Institute (OMI) at Ohio State University as well as a 2016 Local Economic Advancement Program (LEAP) grant through AEP Ohio.

3 contents about montrose group and the Licking County assignment 1 About the Montrose Group, LLC 1 executive summary 2 general economic context and outlook 7 Global and National Economy 7 Ohio Economic Outlook 10 Licking County Asset Inventory, Economic & Demographic Data 14 Licking County Asset Inventory 14 Impact of Future Economic Trends 19 Workforce Analysis 23 Transportation Analysis 31 Infrastructure Analysis 41 Benchmarking Analysis 42 Cost Competitiveness Analysis swot analysis 47 Licking County s Key Economic Development Strengths 47 Licking County s Key Economic Development Weaknesses 47 Licking County s Key Economic Development Opportunities 48 Licking County s Economic Development Threats 49 community assessment 50 Overview 50 Listening Session Report 50 Licking County Site Development 55

4 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Executive Summary 56 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Goals 57 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Objectives 58 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Strategies 59 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Tactics 60 endnotes 80 appendices 84 Appendix A: Definition of Economic Indicators 84 Appendix B: ROI Industry Cluster analysis 86 Appendix C: Infrastructure Raw Data and Map 112

5 about montrose group and the licking county assignment About the Montrose Group, LLC The Montrose Group, LLC provides economic development planning, lobbying, marketing and public finance and incentive consulting services. The firm brings together some of the leading practitioners in economic development planning and strategy engaged in economic development planning at the state, local, and regional levels and corporate site location. Together the team utilizes a Learn, Listen and Do approach to economic development planning that starts with fundamental economic development research to understand who a community or site is then listens to what the community wants the region or site to be and then develops a detailed action plan tied to local and outside funding sources centered on the business retention and attraction of high wage jobs and capital investment. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

6 executive summary GROW Licking County Community Improvement Corporation serves as the lead economic development organization for Licking County, Ohio. Through this role, GROW Licking County is tasked with serving as the primary point of contact for business attraction and retention through the Columbus Region s regional economic development organization, Columbus 2020, as well as the State of Ohio s economic development organization, JobsOhio. In addition, GROW Licking County is also responsible for the oversight and management of Workenomics, the county s lead workforce development organization. Through these capacities, GROW Licking County s primary purpose is to market, interface, and ultimately recruit new or expand existing job opportunities that diversify the existing tax base in Licking County. Licking County is a growing Central Ohio community with a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities providing a unique demographic and economic balance. The County has a population of 170,570 and the population is predicted to grow to well over 200,000 in the next twenty years. Licking County s employment sector is largely made up of companies in the services, trade, transportation and utility and manufacturing industries. According to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, employment in Licking County has grown from 43,558 employees in 2013 to 45,674 employees in 2016, a 4.8% growth rate. Based upon the industry cluster analysis, impact of future economic trends and existing demographic data about Licking County, GROW Licking County s high-wage job focus should center on: 1. Advanced manufacturing; 2. STEM and high-tech related jobs; and 3. Professional service occupations in a mixed-use setting in urban cores. The listening sessions with business and community leaders from across the County indicated that the economic development climate and collaboration has improved in the last several years based on the Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

7 establishment of the GROW Licking County CIC. The list of challenges identified in these listening sessions included: Available workforce; Lack of skilled trades; Transportation- North/south routes needed to connect I-70 and SR-161; Public transportation, not serving the needs of employers and low skilled workers; Too many organizations doing economic development in Licking County; Housing availability; Less poverty and more diversity moving forward; Product development is critical; need developable, job ready sites; and Investment in infrastructure (broadband, sewer, water) in growing areas The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis provides particular insight into Licking County and what lies ahead for economic development success. Strengths Central Ohio Marketplace Growing Population Transportation, Site & Infrastructure Assets Quality Local Workforce Development Programs Opportunities SR 161 Highway Expansion Foreign Direct Investment Growth of STEM jobs Weaknesses Stagnate Ohio Growth Lower Education Levels Abundance of Low-wage Service Jobs North-South Transportation Network Threats Automation Neighboring Counties Capturing Knowledge Workers Manufacturing Skills Gap To capitalize on Licking County s success but address it challenges, GROW Licking County should focus on achieving these top line goals and objectives by 2025: 5,000 new jobs Increase the median household income by $5,000 $200 million in new payroll $750 million in capital investment Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

8 These tactics can achieve the goals of this action plan. 1. GROW Licking County in conjunction with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce should implement a fundraising campaign to attract more public and private sector investors to its economic development efforts. 2. GROW Licking County should implement an aggressive Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program starting with the retention of existing companies through one on one interviews 3. GROW Licking County should launch Go Global Licking County to implement a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export campaign to support existing advanced manufacturing employers and attracting new advanced manufacturing and high-technology centers to the region. 4. GROW Licking County should facilitate the creation of a global research and development park focused on advanced materials in Licking County. 5. GROW Licking County, through Workenomics, should endeavor to promote an occupational marketing campaign that develops a core of certified workers prepared and ready to work in global manufacturing and high-technology companies 6. GROW Licking County should continue to encourage the efforts to revitalize Licking County s urban centers. 7. GROW Licking County should create a Licking County Infrastructure Bank to directly connect various infrastructure funding and economic development activities. These tactics are broken down even further into short term, medium term, and long term goals. Tactic Fundraising Campaign Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals Establishing a Board Driven Fundraising Committee to identify strategic partnerships. Developing a fundraising goal that is realistic and can be applied to the economic development efforts of GROW Licking County. Using the GROW Licking County Economic Development Action Plan as a basis to approach existing and new investors to take ownership of the Action Plan and become stewards in its success through Expand the Fundraising Committee to include outside local business and community leaders with influence in economic development. Setting up focus groups and one-on-one interviews with new and prospective investors to gauge their level of interest in investing in GROW Licking County Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

9 BR&E Program Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals With local and regional stakeholders, develop an annual list of targeted companies based on defined factors, including but not limited to, market growth, hiring trends, state or regional targeting. Coordinating the BR&E program with representatives from Workenomics, local government representatives, state or regional partners, and workforce development partners. Meeting with local company executives to gather input on the issues they face and addressing their issues to help these companies grow in the County. Facilitate conversations with decision makers to aid a company s issues related access to capital, addressing regulatory issues, better transportation access, and other business and policy issues. Adequately funding operations, through investment by the Fundraising Committee, annually to provide proper funding of the BR&E program to ensure that proper staffing and promotion of Licking County is available. Investing in BR&E software and surveys to gather data from local companies. Go Global Licking County Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals Participating with Columbus 2020 in organized FDI related global trips to market Licking County. Revising GROW Licking County s website to include FDI and exports information. Defining the benefits of Licking County that would be attractive to global companies that includes their connection to area employers, strategic Central Ohio location, critical infrastructure, available workforce, quality of life, available sites, wage rates and tax and labor policies. Annually review leads generated by contracted entities to align with FDI goals of the organization Recruiting a Go Global Licking County Board of Advisors to serve as a resource to coordinate FDI and export activity among local firms. Creating a global nation target list for exports that includes a review of the country s political stability, economy, social scalability, technology advancements, regulations, export process, regions to focus on, global distributor relationships, export import fees, freight forwarding fees, import duty fees, intellectual property protections, etc. Creating the Go Global Licking County Campaign by attracting an additional investment through the fundraising campaign to fund a staff member or consultant to implement the campaign and cover the cost of global trips, trade missions, and trade shows. Coordinating advertisements and direct contact campaign through social media sites such as LinkedIn, Google and industry trade association sites to drive traffic to the local economic development website Developing capital access strategies to fund export activities for Licking County companies from state of Ohio IMAGE grants and Federal grants. Developing Peer to Peer Campaigns to introduce the region to global company s prospects by local company leaders for both export and FDI opportunities. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

10 Advanced Materials Research Park Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals Coordinate with local partners to pursue public funds to aid in the planning and development of a proposed advanced materials research and development park land use master plan. Establishing a research and development relationship with the Ohio State University tied to the Licking County advanced materials research park. Based upon the land use master plan, identifying parcels to create sites ready for development for the Licking County advanced material research park Marketing the existence of the Licking County advanced material research park through the availability of sites Further establish a relationship with Ohio State University to target large-scale, advanced materials spin-out R&D opportunities to locate in Licking County Develop relationship with existing advanced materials manufacturers to target their internal R&D needs to be located within Licking County Revitalizing Licking County s Urban Core Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals Develop a library of resources for local community partners to access fact sheets on community and economic Development programs to aid in their community goals. Serve as a conduit for various community and economic development programs for community s to utilize Aid in strategizing with various Public Works Departments and Administrations to incorporate Smart City Initiatives (WIFIenabled street lights, public WIFI options, inclusion of Fiber Optic strategies in projects) Licking County Infrastructure Bank Short Term Goals Medium Term Goals Long Term Goals Review best practices for establishing a local RLF focused on infrastructure based projects throughout Licking County Purse identified state and federal funding sources to support the proposed RLF program Evaluate EB-5 funding for targeted, larger scale transportation projects Evaluate P3 financing for major transportation projects Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

11 general economic context and outlook Global and National Economy The economic development of Licking County is tied to the economic conditions of the United States, state of Ohio, Licking County and its communities. What constitutes the economy, whether the economy is growing, and what industries are growing all impact the development of a comprehensive economic development strategic plan. There are numerous economic metrics that provide insight into what the economic make-up is and what industries are succeeding. These metrics are discussed in more detail in Appendix A. A review of current economic data illustrates mixed results for the nation and the Midwest Region. National economic growth is slowing but many regions of the U.S. remain in an economically strong position with a slowing Gross Domestic Product, steady unemployment, employee compensation and personal income. Finance, insurance, professional service, transportation and warehousing are all growing industries. On the global front, America is experience a continued rising trade deficits but increasing Foreign Direct Investments. Travel and tourism and energy production is down. American economic growth continues heading into the fourth quarter of 2017 but not at the pace hoped for. Key data points related to the current performance of the U.S. economy include the following: Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2017, according to the second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis following a 1.2 percent increase in the first quarter; Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia in the first quarter of 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP by state growth in the first quarter ranged from 3.9 percent in Texas to -4.0 percent in Nebraska (see chart below). In July, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1 percent seasonally adjusted; rising 1.7 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted and the index for all items less food and energy rose 0.1 percent in July- up 1.7 percent over the year; Compensation costs increased 0.5 percent for civilian workers, seasonally adjusted, from March 2017 to June 2017, and, over the year, compensation rose 2.4 percent, wages and salaries rose 2.3 percent, and benefits rose 2.5 percent; Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent with job gains in manufacturing, construction, professional and technical services, health care, and mining; Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

12 The Producer Price Index for final demand declined 0.1 percent in July after edging up 0.1 percent in June, and, in July, the index for final demand services fell 0.2 percent and prices for final demand goods decreased 0.1 percent with the final demand index rose 1.9 percent for the 12 months ended in July; Productivity increased 0.9 percent in the nonfarm business sector in the second quarter of 2017 with the unit labor costs increased 0.6 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates), and, in manufacturing, productivity increased 2.5 percent and unit labor costs decreased 0.3 percent; Real average hourly earnings increased 0.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent, CPI-U increased 0.1 percent, and real average weekly earnings increased 0.2 percent over the month; U.S. import prices edged up 0.1 percent in July, led by higher fuel prices which more than offset lower prices for nonfuel imports, and U.S. export prices advanced 0.4 percent in July and increased 0.8 percent over the past year; Personal income increased $65.6 B (0.4 percent) in July with disposable personal income (DPI) increased $39.6 B (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $44.7 B (0.3 percent); State personal income growth accelerated to 1.0 percent on average in the first quarter of 2017 from 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 with earnings and personal current transfer receipts were the leading contributors to growth for the nation and in most states. Percent Change in Real GDP by State, 2016: Q4-2017: Q1, Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

13 Personal Income: Percent Change, 2016: Q4-2017:Q1 Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses totaled $373.4 billion in 2016 which was down 15 percent from $439.6 billion in 2015, but was above the annual average of $350.0 billion for , and was well above the annual average of $226.0 billion for New Investment by Foreign Direct Investors by Type, Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

14 Ohio Economic Outlook Unemployment rates hit a new recent low nationally to 4.4% in September of Unfortunately, Ohio had the fourth highest unemployment rate among the states in September of 2017 at 5.3%. Targeted State Unemployment Rates Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics A review of the Ohio economy involves understanding the state s industry size and make up, its income performance, unemployment rate, demographic strengths and weaknesses. Ohio s has the seventh largest economy among the fifty states with a $608.1 B GDP as measured in 2015 with Pennsylvania ranked 6th and New Jersey as 8th. 1 Ohio s economy would be the 21st largest in the world just below Saudi Arabia. 2 On a per capita basis, Ohio s GDP of $52,363 ranked 26th largest in the nation in Among its neighboring states, only Pennsylvania ranked higher than Ohio, with per capita GDP of $53,831 (23rd). 4 Over the last decade, average annual economic growth in most of Ohio s neighboring states was faster than in Ohio, including West Virginia where GDP growth averaged 3.3% per year, Pennsylvania (3.2%), Indiana (3.1%), and Kentucky (3.0%). 5 Michigan was the only neighboring state with slower GDP growth than that of Ohio, at an average of 1.6% per year. 6 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

15 Ohio s economy when reviewed by industry illustrates an economy not nearly as dominated by the manufacturing industry as has existed in the past. As measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, trade, transportation and utilities, education and health care, government and professional service jobs all have more jobs in Ohio than the manufacturing sector. Regional economies grow through the retention and expansion of like, growing industries already located in a region as measured by a review of the industry cluster and location quotient for the success of these clusters. An economic cluster comprises of a geographic concentration of firms within a particular industry. 7 It includes core firms and other organizations who can contribute to the industry s competitive success. Location quotient is an indicator of the economic concentration of a certain industry in a state, region, county or city compared to a base economy, such as a state or nation. A location quotient greater than 1 indicates a concentration of that industry in the area. A location quotient greater than 1 typically indicates an industry that is export oriented. An industry with a location quotient of 1 with a high number of jobs present is likely a big exporter and is bringing economic value to the community feeding the retail trade and food services sectors. The location quotient is an indicator of past success but is also a harbinger of future success. Ohio Jobs by Industry Sector, March 2017 Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

16 Ohio Location Quotient Comparison Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics As illustrated in the chart above, Ohio is a trade, transportation and utilities, manufacturing and goods producing leader but does not keep pace with neighboring Indiana or Michigan and is far behind Florida in professional and business services and financial activities. How Ohio compares to other states from an economic standpoint is a highly relevant topic for any economic development strategic plan. Reviewing demographic data is a strong starting point for measuring economic. Regions with an increasing population base and a group of younger workers illustrate growing communities. Homeownership rates and home value illustrate stability in a community but also whether it is affordable to buy a home in a community. The percentage of citizens over 25 with a college degree illustrates the likelihood the region can attract high-wage financial services, insurance, health care, hightech, professional service and other advanced services white collar jobs. Finally, measures of income and poverty rates illustrate the overall economic strength of the community. Utilizing a demographic Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

17 benchmark comparison, Ohio illustrates weak population growth and has a slightly higher than average senior population illustrating the challenge the state has in retaining a younger generation of worker compared to the national average and regional competitors. Ohio s homeownership rates are above the national average but trail competitors such as West Virginia and Florida. Ohio s median home value is far below the national average illustrating the affordability of housing in the state. Ohio Demographic Benchmark State Comparison People Indiana Michigan West Virginia Florida Ohio U.S. Population Gains Persons over Homeownership Rate Median Home Value Bachelor's degree Median Household Income Poverty Rate Source: US Census Bureau Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

18 licking county asset inventory, economic & demographic data Licking County, Ohio is a growing Central Ohio county with substantial economic, demographic and community assets. Licking County Asset Inventory Growing Population Diverse Population Centers Substantial Tax Base Local Health Care System Strategic Central Ohio Location connected with transportation infrastructure Industry strength in services, goods producing, trade, transportation and utilities and manufacturing Moderate population growth with a relatively young workforce Above average income and relatively low cost of living Licking County has a population of 170,570 and the population is predicted to grow to well over 200,000 in the next twenty years. 8 Licking County is the 17th largest county by population of Ohio s 88 counties. 9 It is also a relatively young community with a median age of 39 and the largest population age brackets being and both of which are the prime years for working and economic production. 10 Licking County is also square miles in size with substantial cities and villages that include: Newark, Pataskala, Johnstown, Granville, Heath, Hebron and other cities, villages and townships. 11 Licking County Population Centers Local Community Population 2015 Population 2010 Newark city 47,986 47,575 Pataskala city 15,245 14,924 Heath city 10,489 10,282 Reynoldsburg city (part) 8,975 8,816 Etna twp UB 8,579 8,308 Harrison twp UB 7,362 7,083 Granville vlg 5,747 5,667 Johnstown vlg 4,918 4,644 Licking twp 4,801 4,647 Granville twp UB 4,287 4,131 Source: Census Data Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

19 As the table above illustrates, Licking County not only has a substantial population base but it is growing in urban and rural communities alike. Growth is another important economic asset. Licking County s tax base is another relevant economic asset to measure. Licking County has a taxable value of real property of $3,735,263,180 that includes a residential value of $2,678,249,246, agriculture value of $359,774,729, industrial value of $133,156,532, commercial value of $561,045,743, and mineral value of $3,036,930. Its Ohio income tax liability is $109,196,380 with an average per return of $1, How the land of Licking County is used is also a worthy measure. One-third of Licking County is used as productive farm land to cultivate crops, ten percent is used as developed land and the largest land use in Licking County is for forests which indicates there is plenty of land ready for future development. Licking County has substantial educational assets.13 They have 54 public schools buildings with an average per pupil expenditure rate of $9,116 and an impressive 88% graduation rate.14 Besides 5 public libraries, Licking County is home to the growing the Ohio State University Newark Branch Campus and nationally respected Dennison University.15 The growth and popularity of the Ohio State University Network branch is a new opportunity for growth and development as this campus is becoming a residential destination and not just a commuter campus for students trying to choose a college path. Licking County benefits from its strategic location in Central Ohio. Central Ohio s population is growing and this trend goes back over the last four decades. Currently the 15-county region is home to over 2 million residents, and it is estimated that the population will grow by an additional 500,000 residents over the next 35 years.16 Licking County benefits from not just population growth but the economic success of the region driven by the creation of knowledge workers critical to the retention and attraction of high-wage advanced services jobs that demand a college educated workforce. Licking County benefits from the 150,000 college and university students that call Central Ohio home. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

20 From a health care standpoint, Licking County is home to over 200 physicians and the Licking Memorial Health System that provides over 200 hospital beds for the community licensed nursing homes reside in Licking County and the county residents also benefit from a short commute to the large health care resources located in neighboring Franklin County of Ohio Health, Mount Carmel Health System and the Ohio State University. 18 Licking County s employment sector, as noted below in the industry cluster analysis is largely made up of companies in the services, trade, transportation and utility and manufacturing industries. The top employers in the County, excluding those in the government sector are 19 : Anomatic Corp Boeing Denison University AEP Ohio Owens-Corning Park National Bank State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Amazon.com As discussed above, a location quotient is a method of utilizing the industry cluster data and is an indicator of the economic concentration of a certain industry in a state, region, county or city compared to a base economy, such as a state or nation. The largest industry cluster in Licking County is the service industry-- which is no surprise considering it makes up 80% of the U.S. economy. 20 Following the service industry is the trade, transportation and utility and manufacturing industries. Most importantly, as the chart below illustrates, Licking County has a strong industry position in services, manufacturing, good producing and construction all with location quotients above Licking County Wage Location Quotient Relative to U.S. Source: US Census Bureau Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

21 Employment in Licking County has grown from 42,302 employees in 2011 to 43,766 employees in 2015, a 3% growth rate. The sector that witnessed the greatest growth is agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting with 100% growth going from 375 employees in 2011 to 750 employees in The Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats. This was followed by the category of other services with a 41% growth rate from 1,451 employees in 2011 to 2,043 employees in 2015, a net gain of 592 employees. The Other Services (except Public Administration) sector comprises establishments engaged in providing services not specifically provided for elsewhere in the classification system. Establishments in this sector are primarily engaged in activities, such as equipment and machinery repairing, promoting or administering religious activities, grant making, advocacy, and providing dry-cleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care services, pet care services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services, and dating services. Licking County Employees by Industry Sector Source: US Census Bureau The construction sector saw a surge of employees by 24% adding 554 employees, followed by manufacturing with a 13% growth rate adding 753 employees, wholesale trade with a 9% growth rate adding 139 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

22 employees, transportation and warehousing with an 8% growth rate adding 116 employees, finance and insurance with a 6% growth rate adding 145 employees, and health care and social services with a growth rate of 6% adding 427 employees. The sector that experienced the greatest loss of employees from 2011 to 2015 was retail trade that shed 1,303 workers, a decline of 15% 23. Licking Co Employees by Sector Percent Change Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics To further support this data, an industry cluster analysis provided by Research on Investment shows four sectors in the County and their performance against the US economy as a whole: Key Cluster Performance, Source: Emsi Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

23 The growth in Distribution & Warehousing is particularly driven by General Warehousing and Storage. The growth in Advanced Materials, as shown in the manufacturing sector data above, is driven by several plastics manufacturers. 24 Growing the Licking County economy by providing high-wage, high-skilled jobs will depend upon attracting those industries that have a presence in the County currently as well as examining those industries that are growing nationally but could grow in Licking County based on the clusters and supply chain and workforce that exist in the region. Demographic data is another measure of economic success. As the table below illustrates, Licking County has substantial economic development assets related to its population growth, average age, homeownership rates, a low median home value, labor participation rates, household income and poverty rates. The data illustrates that Licking County compares well to the state of Ohio in many of these areas. Licking County Demographic Profile People Ohio Licking County, Ohio U.S. Population Growth Persons 65 years and over Homeownership Rate Median Home Value Median Household Income Poverty Rate Source: U.S. Census Data Impact of Future Economic Trends Understanding the current economic strength of a region is not the only predictor of future economic success. Demographic and economic changes coming matter to local and state policy makers, business leaders and economic development officials seeking to survive a global economy. Five trends will drive the Five Trends Impacting economic success of local and state economies in the Economic Development coming year, including Licking County. Automation Automation is not a new topic. It has been making Millennials Domestic Energy Production America s manufacturing industry the most competitive Assault on Economic Development and productive in the world but it is also played a Organizations large part in dropping the number of manufacturing FDI Growth jobs in the U.S. About 9% of the US workforce is in manufacturing and this total has dropped from over 30% in the 1950s. However, recent advances in machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

24 are driving major changes in the economic marketplace all of which impact Licking County s economic development strategy. Occupations with the highest chance of being automated involve work that involve highly predictable physical activities as well as collecting and analyzing data. Thus, occupations are more likely to change than be automated away. Advances in computer software and the development of artificial intelligence is giving computers the ability to learn while the cost and ability of robots is making them more and more common place in the manufacturing sector. By 2035, 47% of U.S. jobs might be at risk due to advances in machine learning, automation, and artificial intelligence. 25 This may impact 2,000 work activities across 800 occupations. 26 Estimates are automation will impact 60 million U.S. jobs. 27 McKinsey estimates less than 5 % of all occupations will be fully Occupations Being automate, but about 60 % of all occupations have at Replaced By Automation least 30 percent of constituent activities that could Insurance Underwriters and Claims be automated. 28 Robot industry experts estimate Representatives the average fast food establishment will switch 1.2 Bank Tellers workers from counter service to other tasks as remote Financial Analysts order taking, delivery by robotic applications grow Construction Workers Inventory Managers with the tipping point in Restaurants, like the Farmers retail banks use of ATMs reducing the need for bank Taxi Drivers tellers, will become less of a job source. E-commerce Manufacturing Workers purchases over trips to the mall will create Grayfield Journalists Malls and driverless cars and trucks will transform Movie Stars our roadways and eliminate millions of transportation related jobs. Source: The most important fact that Licking County needs to consider related to automation s impact on its economy is the fact that both blue and white collar jobs will be impacted in a negative fashion. Jobs that Licking County should focus on to grow its economy that are not likely to be automated involve occupations managing others, specialized expertise such as scientific, engineering, computer or professional services, unpredictable physical activity and a large amount of stakeholder or customer interaction. In reality, regions focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields tied to technology based economic development will succeed in the future while the growth of many high-wage, white collar advanced services occupations in financial services may be in jeopardy. The importance of the Millennial generation on the US, Ohio and Licking County economy will continue. Millennials are the demographic group years of age and they are the largest population pool in America right now. This large pool of workers is a substantial economic asset for the nation and regions Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

25 are battling to retain and attract this generation much more focused on quality of place. Millennials like mixed use development patterns, are prone more to walk, bike or take an Uber than drive their own car. Big towns and small looking to recruit this generation need to revitalize their Downtowns into walkable, mixed use developments where people can live, work and play. Millennials are America s Largest Generation The world runs on energy. The supply of energy comes from non-non-renewable fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil but also from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. America needs all the sources of energy they can capture and use. That need is not based upon the overall demand for energy in the U.S. but based upon the opportunity regions and states must retain and attract energy intensive industries and their high wage jobs based upon a locally created energy source. That need is also based upon the global demand for energy in developing nations where energy demand is skyrocketing. Global energy demand will increase by one-third from with emerging economies in Asia and the Middle East leading this growth. 30 America remains in the Age of Energy. While low oil and natural gas prices have slowed domestic energy production, the explosion of shale oil and natural gas is making America energy independent and creating a substantial opportunity to access reliable and cheap energy to retain and attract energy intensive companies in heavy manufacturing and technology industries where the cost of energy is a major factor when deciding where to locate. Regions hoping to succeed in the age of energy need to develop energy led economic development strategies recruit energy companies and companies seeking low cost energy through the use of regulatory mandates, incentives and demand oriented programs to recruit high-wage jobs. These companies could be energy processing, corporate headquarters, heavy industry or high-tech company s dependent up on reliable and cheap energy. Energy is connected to economic development as a critical infrastructure source as well as a major industry providing advanced services, manufacturing and research and development Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

26 jobs. Energy led economic development is the strategic approach to turn energy into more than just a natural resource. A disturbing trend driven from the politics of the left and the right are attacks on economic development organizations. The Speaker of the Florida House is attacking Enterprise Florida and legislation actually passed that eliminates the organization. Economic development organizations should watch these developments closely, develop economic development strategic plans to justify the use of tax incentives and to build stronger connections between companies and elected officials. Coordinating economic development strategic plans is an important move to combat attacks on economic development organizations. Another important effort is to focus on the retention and attraction of high-wage jobs. Finally, a major new growth opportunities lies in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Globalism represents access to growing markets. 70 percent of the world s customers are outside of the United States. 31 The average annual compensation at foreign-owned firms typically exceeds $73, U.S. affiliates of foreign companies in 2009 invested $40,000,000,000 on research and development and $183,000,000,000 on plants and equipment. 33 Regions attracting FDI from global companies reap economic benefits. FDI is measured by the investment of majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreigndomiciled companies. Firms linked to FDI lead in research and development. These firms also export more than 18 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports. 34 China, who spent two decades sucking out American manufacturing jobs, now is shifting production and manufacturing facilities to the United States. In fact, in 2016, China s FDI in the U.S. was up 359%. China s manufacturing economy is the size of the American manufacturing economy. Rising wage rates and an economic slow-down coming to China are driving Chinese money to the stability and strength of the U.S. economy. Regions looking to grow should be sowing the seeds for a Chinese invasion. Based upon the industry cluster analysis, impact of future economic trends and existing demographic data about Licking County, GROW Licking County s high-wage job focus should center on: Advanced manufacturing with a particular focus on Chinese investments; STEM and high-tech related jobs; and Professional service occupations in a mixed-use development setting within communities urban cores. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

27 Workforce Analysis A region s workforce is a critical measure of its economic success. The retirement of the Baby Boom generation and a lack of alignment between industry and higher education are creating widespread shortages in qualified workforce even in times of high unemployment. Regions that are successful with the retention of a high-quality workforce start with a strategy of targeting good jobs using initial upfront training and job-matching services and create support for workers such as childcare and transportation networks plus financial incentives for companies that take such an approach. 35 An examination of a community s workforce includes a review of its size, unemployment rate, education level, occupation and earnings levels. As noted previously, Licking County has a relatively large and growing workforce as Ohio s 17th largest of 88 counties. The region has benefited from steady growth over the last 65 years as outlined by the table below. Licking County Population growth Source: U.S. Census Data Also, as noted previously, Licking County s workforce has a strong demographic range with a clear majority of workers in the prime age range as the chart below illustrates. The availability of a workforce primed for employment based upon age is a major advantage for any region and one that many nations struggle to address. In addition, regions need a pipeline of future workers with a strong student age population. This workforce pipeline creates an opportunity for communities to grow not just through the import of workers from other regions but through the retention of their student population to remain following the completion of school or technical training. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

28 Licking County Population by Age Source: U.S. Census Data The educational attainment of a region is highly important as it relates to the availability of a skilled workforce. Those regions with a large number of college educated workers are primed to retain and attract high-wage, advanced service white collar jobs in financial services, information technology, health care and professional service firms that drive many successful economies. Licking County Residents Educational Attainment Source: U.S. Census Bureau As the data indicates a major area of concern for Licking County is the lack of bachelor degree graduates. Unlike many other ex-urban counties (as will be discussed in the benchmarking section of the report), Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

29 Licking County has just over 20% of its population with a bachelor degree or higher compared with nearly 30% of the nation, 26% for the state of Ohio and far below its neighboring counties of Franklin and Delaware. A region s unemployment rate is an important measure of its economic success. Ohio s October 2017 unemployment rate is 5.1% which is 1.0% higher than the national average of 4.1%. Licking County s unemployment rate is 3.7% which is well below the state average and below the national average. The Civilian Labor Force is a good measure of how many people are available to work in the County. It comprises civilians 16 years of age and over who are working or seeking work. It excludes military personnel, persons in institutions, those studying or keeping house full-time, persons who are retired or unable to work, and volunteer workers. Licking County s Civilian Labor Force as of October 2017 is 89,600. It has grown from 84,100 in October 2007, an increase of over 5,500 employees. The chart below shows the change in the civilian labor force over that time frame. Labor participation rates are also a worthy measure of how many residents in a region and currently in the civilian workforce. Licking County has a civilian labor participation rate on par with both the state of Ohio and the national average. Licking County has a below average unemployment rate but the rate is higher than many of its peer exurban counties and even urban centers such as Franklin and Hamilton counties. Licking County Civilian Labor Force \Source: Ohio Labor Market Information Understanding which industries, a community has a strong workforce in illustrates its likely success in a targeted industry as discussed in the cluster analysis review above. As the chart below shows, the Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

30 largest occupations for people that live in Licking County is in Management, Business, Science and Arts Occupations. That is followed by people employed in sales and office occupations, and by service occupations. Licking County Employment in Occupation Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics From a perspective of people that work in Licking County, its largest job sector is trade, transportation and utilities followed by education and health services, and manufacturing, as illustrated by the chart below. Licking County Jobs Source: U.S. Census Bureau Licking County has been following the national trend with the loss of high-wage manufacturing jobs and the replacement with low wage service jobs. The service sector has added 10,000 service jobs in Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

31 Licking County since 1990, professional services and education jobs have increased, and manufacturing jobs have dropped by 2000 positions. Unfortunately, many of the jobs added in Licking County during the last twenty-five years pay three hundred dollars less a week than high-wage manufacturing or professional service firm jobs. Total Licking County Employment People working in Licking County Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics It is clear that Licking County has not fully recovered from the 2009 national economic recession. In 2007 there were 54,629 people working in Licking County. As of June of 2017 there are 53,818 people working in the County. Licking County hit a low of 50,308 employees in 2010 but has added nearly 3,500 jobs since that time. Licking County is on a trajectory to hit its 2007 employment figures and show a full recovery from the 2009 recession. The chart below illustrates which industries have struggled to recover their jobs from 2007 to The industry that has grown in Licking County, like much of the nation, has been in the health care sector. Natural resources and mining has also grown due to the County s proximity to the State s shale play. Licking County Employment by Industry Sector 2007 v Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

32 Manufacturing is a large part of the Licking County employment makeup, providing important multiplier jobs that pay higher than average wages and support other jobs in the retail, arts, real estate, education, utilities and other service jobs. The chart below outlines where, historically, the manufacturing jobs of Licking County have been within the manufacturing industry itself. Licking County Manufacturing by Employees and Industry Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Licking County has historic and trending manufacturing strength in fabricated metal product manufacturing, chemicals, plastics and rubber products, and transportation equipment manufacturing. This list of manufacturing by industry is critical to understand when developing a manufacturing workforce initiative. The availability of a skilled workforce is a critical issue facing Licking County. Several national data points illustrate the challenge facing many communities as the Baby Boomers retire, including: National labor data indicates as many as 25 million, or 47%, of all new job openings from 2010 to 2020 will fall into the middle-skills range; ,000 that is the total number of jobs in the manufacturing sector waiting for skilled workers. Manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States but the world s global manufacturing leader is not ready to fill all the positions; percent- that is the number of the energy industry s 5,000,000 pool of skilled workers that will retire within a decade, and at the same time, a shale energy jobs explosion is expanding well Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

33 beyond the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana energy triangle into North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia and this boom creates thousands of energy jobs over the next decade right when half the current workers are retiring; percent- that is the percentage of information technology executives who said their largest barrier to success is a lack of staff to implement the mission of the company, and, much like energy, information technology is a growing aspect of the American economy and provides the basis for global success in many U.S. regional market; and ,000 nurses and 125,000 doctors- that is the shortage expected by 2020 in what is the largest sector of most regional economies, health care. Health care is a major employer everywhere. 40 Regions without a skilled workforce for the healthcare industry struggle to grow this sector of their economy and retain other employers whose employees need quality healthcare. Several discrete methods exist to illustrate a regional workforce challenge. First, proof of actual jobs being open are examined. Second, employers are surveyed as to their workforce needs. There is no federal economic measure that quantifies a skill gap. Instead, a review of open jobs in specific regions and targeted industries are the best measure of a worker skill gap in a region. Many communities in Licking County have jobs open and going unfilled. Ohiomeansjobs.org is the state of Ohio web portal that connects employers with open jobs with workers seeking jobs. According to Ohiomeansjobs.org, Newark, Ohio has 1311 open jobs within 10 miles of Licking County s seat of county government. Licking County has a 4.4% unemployment rate but residents must lack the skills to fill these current open jobs in Licking County. Even more telling is that there are 374 open jobs in the manufacturing sector within 20 miles of Newark, Ohio. Licking County is battling aggressively to retain and attract new manufacturing jobs but they are having trouble even filling all the manufacturing jobs currently in the County. Based upon interviews with Licking County employers, there is a dramatic concern about the lack of skilled workers particularly in the manufacturing industry. Much of the discussion during one on one and focus group discussions with employers and economic development leaders in all corners of Licking County focused on the concern with engaging young workers in the manufacturing process. Based upon actual open job data and employer input, it is clear Licking County does in fact face a skilled workforce shortage. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

34 Licking County benefits from four post-secondary institutions than can impact the region s workforce development. Ohio State Newark offers general studies coursework applicable to all undergraduate degree programs at The Ohio State University. Entire degree programs may be completed at Ohio State Newark in the following areas: Early/Middle Childhood Education (B.S.Ed.), General Business (B.S.B.A.), English (B.A.), History (B.A.), Psychology (B.A. or B.S.), and Social Work (B.S.S.W.), and a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning and a Master of Social Work are also available. The Ohio State University at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College are engaged in a partnership to help students earn degrees. At Central Ohio Technical College, students can earn one of 45 associate degrees or certificates, or gain skills needed for career advancement. COTC offers associate degrees and certificates in information technology, healthcare services, engineering technology services and public safety services. COTC partners with Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County (C-TEC), a oneyear post-secondary institution, to provide many of its certificate programs to adult learners, such as in healthcare, IT and public safety. C-TEC offers 15 workforce development programs that culminate in an industry-recognized certification in the areas of Manufacturing (Machining, Maintenance, Welding), Heavy Truck and Equipment, Healthcare, IT, Power Lineman, Massage Therapy and Cosmetology. Upon completion of a one-year technical training program, students can enter the workforce directly or continue on to an associate or bachelor s degree through many one + one or one + three models. C-TEC also provides pre-employment and contract training for area employers new and incumbent workforce through apprenticeships, job profiling, assessment and work-based learning. Ohio State Newark has over 2600 students, COTC has over 3300 students, and C-Tec trains over 3500 students each year. Many of the Ohio State Newark students are enrolled Freshman who hope to transfer to the main Ohio State University campus in Columbus. 41 Denison University is a national, liberal arts university with just over 2200 students and majors in bachelor of arts, science and fine arts in Granville. 42 COTC & OSU Newark Campus Enrollment Source: Ohio Department of Education Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

35 Licking County has a number of existing programs designed by local employers. The C-TEC Edge Manufacturing Certification Program, developed in partnership with 20 Licking County manufacturing firms to provide targeted training for a variety of manufacturing positions, is just one example of how these development partners are able to create unique, customized training partnerships for your company s production needs and help your business recruit, retain, and develop employees with high-value technical skills, multiple professional certifications, and 4-year degrees. 43 Workenomics is a cooperative effort to support and coordinate private and public sector economic and workforce development in Licking County to meet companies training needs. 44 Licking County s Project Prepare, developed by the Licking County Chamber of Commerce, now expanded through C-TEC, is a two-phase initiative developed to encourage interest in skilled trades and manufacturing among all age groups from high school students to employed adults. 45 This proactive approach has been in development since early 2015 and continues to gain momentum and support from local schools and businesses within the Licking County community. 46 Phase I focuses on educating high school students and their parents about the rewarding opportunities offered by careers in STEM-related fields. 47 Licking County manufacturers note that one of the greatest challenges to getting new entrants into the skilled-trades is the negative connotations that have traditionally surrounded them. 48 By reaching out at such an important transitional stage in their lives, Project Prepare creates the opportunity to be a part of the conversation and change the narrative that has stunted the interest in these career options nationwide. 49 Through guided tours, interviews with industry leaders, and multi-media presentations, Project Prepare is able to demonstrate the new face of manufacturing as a financially and intellectually gratifying career. 50 Phase II is a targeted approach towards adult learners seeking to expand their career options and complement existing training they may have. 51 Mentorship and in-class programs are currently being developed with the aid of local businesses interested in participating in the program, and, to address financial issues faced by Licking County adults seeking such training, the Workforce Development Fund has been created with the assistance of the Licking County Foundation. 52 Funds are received from local businesses committed to actively addressing future workforce concerns shared by the entire business community. 53 Transportation Analysis Government s provision of transportation infrastructure is the most traditional public subsidy provided by local and state governments to incentivize economic development. Infrastructure is the roads, water, sewer, rail, power, and telecommunications services needed to operate any use of a property. A region s transportation system is critical to its economic success. The linkages provided by road, highways, interstate highways, bridge, rail and airports often provides substantial economic success. In a global economy, a region s transportation system provides connections to markets and people that local industry Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

36 needs to drive exports and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) back to the community. Few markets are large enough to be sustained on their own and a sold transportation infrastructure is essential for economic growth. Transportation investments play a major role in economic development. Studies from the Federal Highway Administration illustrates highway investments produce billions of dollars in economic impact. A region s industrial and employment base is closely tied to the quality of the transportation system as a dependable transportation infrastructure allows businesses to receive inputs to production facilities and to transport finished goods to market in an efficient manner. 54 Initial estimates at the national and state levels suggest a positive relationship between all public infrastructure investment (especially transportation) and economic productivity gains. Federal Highway Administration studies indicate that a 10-percent increase in public transportation investment yields a 4-percent increase in national economic output. 55 Again, federal government research also points to industry case studies that determined a reliable and efficient transportation network allows firms to: 1. generate innovative new management and distribution systems; 2. save inventory costs by using just-in-time delivery techniques, which are based on minimizing inventory while maximizing the use of efficient and timely delivery; 3. pass savings on to customers as transportation and logistics costs are lowered; and 4. access larger input and labor markets, thereby providing a more creative, efficient, or higher quality product. 56 Studies also indicate the development of highway infrastructure has an even larger economic impact on rural communities as it often drives industrial development. 57 Finally, the development of highways is direct driver of developing population growth in a region. The development of the interstate highway and outer-belt system drove population growth to the suburbs for the last half of the 20th Century. 58 Licking County s transportation system consists of a comprehensive network of local road, several major state highways, an east-west interstate highway, rail lines and access to a world class airport. Most importantly, substantial state highway investments have improved the transportation connections to the 14th largest city in America, Columbus as well as its growing suburban communities such as New Albany. The expansion of State Route 161 creates a major new economic link to not just the population center of Columbus and Northeastern Franklin County but also a more direct link to John Glenn International Airport. The Ohio Department of Transportation rebuilt the interchanges at I-270/SR 161 and Sunbury Road. This includes 17 bridges, 18 ramps and 5 miles of highway (43 lane miles) at a cost of $126,000, The new interchanges at I-270 and SR 161 eliminates the weaving, merging and pinch points by replacing old cloverleaf ramps with new fly-over ramps. 60 The new ramps allow motorists to connect directly with the freeway rather than sharing a lane with those entering or exiting Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

37 and the project adds one to two lanes on I-270 from just north of SR 161 to about Sunbury Road, and on SR 161 from I-270 to Little Turtle Way. 61 A SPUI (Single Point Urban Interchange) replaces the old interchange at Sunbury Road and SR 161 and it pumps more traffic through the intersection while taking the least amount of right of way. 62 Most importantly, SR 161 was widened to four lanes from the village of New Albany to Granville in Licking County creating a major state highway linking the core of Licking County to a major growth corridor in the heart of Licking County. The development of the SR 161 should prove to be the most important economic driver in Licking County. North and south transportation flow is handled by a series of four-lane and two-lane highways in State Route 310, State Route 37, State Route 79, State Route 13, and State Route 62. With the exception of SR 62, these State Routes provide a significant flow of traffic and commerce between I-70 and SR 161/16 to the population and business centers of Licking County. A 2012 traffic count study by ODOT 63 shows that I-70 carries around 60,000 vehicles on an annual basis at its western terminus in the County and carries between 40,000 and 50,000 vehicles a day in the middle of the County. State Route 161 carries between 24,000 and 31,000 vehicles a day between the Franklin line and where it terminates at SR 37 and connects with SR 16. SR 16 carries between 30,000 and 40,000 vehicles a day through Newark at the various interchanges in the City. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

38 HARTFO Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Technical Services Traffic Monitoring Section 2012 Annual Average Daily Traffic 0 to to to HARTFO BENNINGTON BURLINGTON UTICA WASHINGTON EDEN FALLSBURY to to to MONROE LIBERTY SAINT LOUISVILLE MCKEAN to Other Roads Municipalities A Municipalities Townships JOHNSTOWN NEWTON 2250 PERRY 586 A Townships JERSEY ALEXANDRIA 6190 GRANVILLE 661 GRANVILLE NEWARK MARY ANN HANOVER NEWARK Miles Newark PATASKALA SAINT ALBANS NEWARK HEATH MADISON HANOVER HARRISON UNION HEBRON LICKING 9400 FRANKLIN HOPEWELL ETNA KIRKERSVILLE Licking County Annual Average Daily Traffic BUCKEYE LAKE BOWLING GREEN GRATIOT ODOT.Traffic.Counts@dot.state.oh.us Miles Source: An analysis of the communizing patterns of people that live and work in Licking County shows that the County is a net exporter of 21,444 workers each day that leave the County to travel to another county for employment. On a daily basis, 46,063 people that live in Licking County leave the County for work. Source: U.S. Census on the Map Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

39 Outflow Job Characteristics (Primary Jobs) 2014 Count Share External Jobs Filled by Residents 46, % Workers Aged 29 or younger 10, % Workers Aged 30 to 54 26, % Workers Aged 55 or older 8, % Workers Earning $1,250 per month or less 8, % Workers Earning $1,251 to $3,333 per month 15, % Workers Earning More than $3,333 per month 21, % Workers in the "Goods Producing" Industry Class 6, % Workers in the "Trade, Transportation, and Utilities" Industry Class 11, % Workers in the "All Other Services" Industry Class 28, % Source: U.S. Census on the Map 80% of those commuters are in the key demographics for employers, and under 29. Over 38% of those workers are in Licking County s key industry sectors, goods producing/manufacturing, and transportation, trade and utilities. Licking County has a workforce that is currently working in the industries it wants to attract and retain but the County does not have enough jobs for all of those residents. The surplus supply of workers in the County is an opportunity for GROW Licking County to attract and retain companies in the manufacturing and transportation and warehouse industries. Rail service has a major impact on a region s economic development. A June 2016 study from Towson University s Regional Economic Studies Institute found that, in 2014 alone, the operations and capital investments of America s major freight railroads supported approximately 1.5 million jobs (1.1 percent of all U.S. workers nearly nine jobs for every railroad job), nearly $274 billion in economic output (1.6 percent of total U.S. output), and $88 billion in wages (1.3 percent of total U.S. wages). 64 Railroads also generated nearly $33 B in tax revenues. 65 Railroads account for around one third of all U.S. exports by volume, providing a vital link to international markets for American firms, farmers, and resource producers. 66 In 2014, international trade accounted for approximately 35 percent of U.S. rail revenue, 27 percent of U.S. rail tonnage, and 42 percent of the carloads and intermodal units U.S. railroads carried. 67 Rail in Licking County is served by the Columbus and Ohio River Railroad, a division of regional railroad Genesee and Wyoming Railroad running east to west along SR 16 through the county and north to south along State routes 79 and 13. The CUOH connects with Class-I railroad Norfolk Southern Railroad. The rail service in Licking County creates another economic benefit for the retention and attraction of industrial companies in need of rail service to deliver goods and services as well as supply the raw materials these industrial companies need. Furthermore, the Licking County rail service assists area Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

40 manufacturing companies promote global exports and positions the region to grow with the expanding logistics and fulfillment center marketplace. Air transportation service is a critical infrastructure issue for GROW Licking County. Again, the expanded highway infrastructure of SR 161 and I-70 created an expedited commute time to Columbus John Glenn International Airport. John Glenn International Airport is the busiest passenger airport in Ohio with 140 non-stop flights to 34 airports daily via 6 airlines. 68 This air service creates a critical economic link for GROW Licking County with national markets. In 2016, John Glenn Columbus International Airport serve 7.3 M passengers which constitutes an 8% increase from Infrastructure Analysis Government s provision of infrastructure is the most traditional public subsidy provided by local and state governments to incentivize economic development. Infrastructure is the roads, water, sewer, rail, power, and telecommunications services needed to operate any use of a property. Infrastructure is an essential tool for enabling private sector economic development. Government uses its own resources to directly build the infrastructure tied to economic development projects. Local and state governments also use a range of public finance tools to provide infrastructure for economic development projects before they are announced or often after the project is promoted. Infrastructure is defined as either point infrastructure or network infrastructure. Point infrastructure is the underlying core amenities in a community such as Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

41 water systems, local roads and public buildings. 70 Network infrastructure consists of systems designed to facilitate linkages between unites across space such as highways, railroads, and canals. 71 Natural Gas Pipelines In the age of energy, access to cheap natural gas has become crucial to attracting companies, both foreign and domestic, that are energy intensive and need energy in their processes. Pickaway County in the southern part of Central Ohio was able to attract Sofidel, an Italian toilet paper manufacturer due in part to the County s ability to tap into an interstate natural gas pipeline. Natural gas pipelines crisscross Licking County largely to serve the industry that exists in the County but also to transport natural gas from the Utica Shale region to the east of Licking County. The County is served by Ohio Cumberland Gas Company and Columbia Gas of Ohio as well as the Knox Energy Cooperative, National Gas and Oil Cooperative, and Consumers Gas Cooperative. Getting access to these interstate lines with capacity to serve large industrial consumers is key to attracting additional domestic and foreign companies. Source: Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Electricity The electricity market in Ohio is deregulated for investor-owned electricity companies and presents challenges for how to fund the distribution of electricity. Deregulation has allowed businesses and consumers to shop on the open market for electricity and has provided greater competition for electricity. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

42 Electric Cooperatives were not subject to deregulation and can provide electricity through a regulated market place allowing for the Electricity Cooperatives to share in the cost of distribution lines. Licking County is served by both types of electric providers, investor-owned utility American Electric Power, and cooperative The Energy Cooperative. From an economic development perspective, this gives businesses choices in their delivery of electricity and makes the County more competitive for projects. Sewer and Water Licking County is served by several water and sewer districts. The Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District was established in 1989 to eliminate environmental pollution problems present in Etna Township, Harrison Township and Lima Township (currently the City of Pataskala) 72. The District provides centralized water and wastewater services to residential and commercial customers in these areas and has experienced rapid growth since it was established in 1989 as they currently serve over 4,700 water customers and 6,000 wastewater customers. 73 The City of Newark Division of Water serves more than 47,000 customers with over 18,300 connections and is responsible for the maintenance of the City s water distribution system, including roughly 190 miles of water main, hundreds of valves and fire hydrants as Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

43 well as thousands of water meters. 74 The City of Newark Division of Wastewater is responsible for treating and returning environmentally clean, safe water back to the Licking River, maintaining the collection system, which consists of approximately 238 miles of sanitary and combined sewers, 17 lift stations and over 5000 manhole structures, and is also responsible for monitoring discharges into the system from industrial and commercial users for compliance with federal regulations as well as local ordinances. 75 Much like Newark, the City of Pataskala provides water service to its residents. Licking County also supports smaller communities such as Buckeye Lake with water and waste water services. 76 Telecommunications Licking County has widespread broadband coverage covering the entire county as illustrated by the ConnectOhio map below. Source: ConnectOhio Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

44 However, as another ConnectOhio map illustrates, there are areas of Licking County that lack broadband service. Source: Connect Ohio Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

45 Benchmarking Analysis The Research on Investment study examined 9 counties across the United States to benchmark against Licking County. 5 of the 9 counties are represented here. They were chosen based on their size and demographics as well as their industry makeup. County 2010 Census Location Facts Economic Development Operations Johnson County, IN Boone County, KY Sumner County, TN Licking County, OH 139,654 Located in the Indianapolis-Carmel- Anderson MSA, Johnson County is south of Indianapolis. I-65 runs through the County. The County is home to Caterpillar, Nestle, Mitsubishi, Aldi. 118,111 Boone County, Kentucky is located in Northern Kentucky, along the Ohio River, just south of Cincinnati. I-75 and I-71 run through the County and it is home to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Boone County is home to Toyota, Bosch, Magna Tech, Amazon, DHL. 160,645 Sumner County is 25 miles northeast of Nashville. I-65 runs along the western edge of the County. Sumner County is home to Gap, RR Donnelly, Servpro, Western Plastics Corp. 166,492 Licking County is located to the east of Columbus and is in the Columbus MSA. It is home to Owens Corning, Park National Bank, Boeing, THK Manufacturing The Johnson County Development Corporation (JCDC) is a non-profit private/public partnership providing economic development services for companies throughout Johnson County, Indiana. Funding for the organization is provided by investors from the public and private sectors. Economic development is managed by the Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, a publicprivate partnership that receives its funding from the Counties in which it serves as well as private sector companies. Forward Sumner Economic Partnership Inc., is a 501(c)6 private non-profit organization that provides economic and community development services for Sumner County, Tenn. Forward Sumner is funded through private, public and civic sectors. GROW Licking County is the public-private partnership that provides economic development services for Licking County. The organization is a part of and works in conjunction with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce. Top Industry, By Employment Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Manufacturing; Retail; Professional, Scientific and Management Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Manufacturing; Retail; Professional, Scientific and Management; Transportation and Warehousing Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Retail; Manufacturing; Professional, Scientific and Management Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Retail; Manufacturing; Finance and Insurance Median Household Income Median Age Individuals in Poverty % HS Graduate or Higher % Bachelor's Degree or Higher % $62, % 92% 28.50% $66, % 92% 30.80% $57, % 89.20% 24.60% $56, % 89.90% 22.80% Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

46 Kenosha County, WI Medina County, OH United States 166,426 Kenosha County, WI is the southeastern most county in Wisconsin with Lake Michigan to its east and Illinois to its south. Kenosha County is home to Amazon, Snap-on, U-Line, American Girl Brands, Kenall, Honeywell and Ocean Spray. 172,332 Medina County is located along I-71 and is south of Cleveland and is part of the Cleveland MSA. Medina County is home to MTD, Arnold Corp, Sandridge Food, and Mack Industries. The Kenosha Area Business Alliance, KABA is the lead business organization that drives economic development throughout Kenosha County. KABA is funded through membership from the public and private sectors. The Medina County Economic Development Corporation is a public/private nonprofit organization that provides economic development to Medina County. MCEDC investors are from a wide variety of companies and governmental entities. Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Manufacturing; Retail; Professional, Scientific and Management Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Manufacturing; Retail; Professional, Scientific and Management 308,745,538 Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Professional, Scientific and Management; Retail; Manufacturing; Ohio 11,536,504 Educational Services, Healthcare and Social Services; Manufacturing; Retail; Professional, Scientific and Management $54, % 90.30% 24.50% $66, % 93.50% 30.80% $53, % 86% 29% $48, % 89% 26% From an economic development perspective Licking County is in line with its peers; all of these counties operate economic development through a public-private partnership that is funded through investors or members from the public and private sectors. The top industry sector not surprisingly is the educational services, healthcare and social services sector. In the top three of all of the counties is retail and in most cases manufacturing. Licking County compares favorably with the US and Ohio from this perspective as well. The average median income of these counties is $58,379. Licking County is below the average at $56,549 but is above the US median income and the Ohio median income. At 12.8% Licking County has a poverty rate that is above the average poverty rate of its peers but is below the national average and the state average. The median age in the County, 39.7 is slightly above the average of its peers but is favorable compares to the state average of 39.1 and is higher than the national average of At 22.8% Licking County has the lowest percentage of its population with a bachelor s degree or higher. Its percentage of its populace with a bachelor s degree is lower than the national and state average. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

47 An analysis of the benchmarking communities shows opportunities for improvement and distinction among its peers. Licking County needs to work to improve the education level of its residents. Licking County needs to continue to try to keep and attract younger people to bring down the median age to bring it in-line with its peers. While not alarming, Licking County should work to increase its median income and lower its poverty rate. From an economic development perspective, none of the communities has distinguished itself in any manner. All the communities benchmarked have benefited, like Licking County from being in an area that has seen growth or has been the beneficiary of suburban and ex-urban growth and flight from urban areas. This has led to economic growth and activity and a healthy mix of companies. Licking County needs to distinguish itself from an economic development perspective and define a characteristic that is distinct to companies and site selectors alike. Cost Competitiveness Analysis Measuring a region s cost competitiveness is an important aspect of an economic development strategy as the cost of doing business is a major corporate relocation factor. Cost factors include real estate, construction, taxes and wage rates in the region. Licking County, as part of the Central Ohio marketplace, has a competitive cost of doing business compared to like markets. Licking County offers a highly competitive wage rate for its workforce as compared with national data. As the chart below illustrates, Licking County has a wage rate below national averages which positions the county well for the retention and attraction of jobs Licking County v. U.S. Average Wage Rate by Industry Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

48 As illustrated in the table below, the state of Ohio, Central Ohio and Licking County s real estate market remains highly cost competitive. Summary of Ohio Real Estate Market Markets Office Vacancy Office Rental Rate Industrial Vacancy Rate Industrial Rental Rate Retail Vacancy Ohio 12.60% $ % $ % $11.43 Columbus 8.52% $ % $ % $11.27 Cincinnati 14.50% $ % $ % $13.27 Cleveland 12.90% $ % $ % $11.20 Dayton 22.00% $ % $ % $ 9.65 Retail Rental Rate Source: Colliers, 1st Quarter, 2017 Reports Licking County s residential home costs are above the Ohio average but well below the national average; thus, the office, industrial, retail and residential real estate market in Licking County is highly competitive from a cost standpoint. Licking County benefits from the relatively low cost of construction of the Central Ohio marketplace. Construction Cost Comparison Source: MetroDenver.org Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

49 From a tax perspective, Licking County is aligned with the majority of Ohio s counties. Licking County s 7.25% sales tax is the same rate as 51 of Ohio s 88 counties, but this rate is higher than competitor exurban counties of Wood, Medina, Licking, Butler and Warren counties. As permitted by Ohio law, municipalities and villages such as Newark, Reynoldsburg, Pataskala, Granville and others charge an income tax on residents and non-resident workers. Licking County also has Joint Economic Development Districts that assess an income tax as well as school districts. Finally, local school districts operate a property tax that impacts the cost of doing business. Tax incentives provide a tool for communities to use to address cost of doing business issues. As an example, the vast majority of states do not permit municipalities to use a municipal income tax. Unfortunately, the state of Ohio and its local governments tax nearly everything. The table below illustrates what Ohio taxes and what governmental entity does the taxing. Tax Ohio Taxing Entity Licking County Example Income Tax Cities and states State of Ohio progressive income tax and municipal income taxes in Newark, Heath, Granville, Johnstown, Hebron, Utica & Pataskala Sales Tax County and states State of Ohio and Licking County Property Tax City, Township, County, Social Service, Schools and State All cities, townships, school districts, select social service agencies, county and state of Ohio charge a sales tax in Licking county As the table below illustrates, the income tax rates in particular charged by Licking County municipalities are in line with rates charged by other cities in the region. However, it is worthy of note that regions in Ohio are forced to compete with cities all over the United States that do not charge any municipal income tax at all. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

50 Regional Income Tax Rate Comparison As the table above illustrates, the Licking County local governments of Newark, Granville, Pataskala, Reynoldsburg and New Albany offer a competitive income tax rate compared to surrounding local, economic competitors such as Westerville, Licking and Columbus. The median property tax in Licking County, Ohio is $1,859 per year for a home worth the median value of $152, Licking County collects, on average, 1.22% of a property s assessed fair market value as property tax. 78 Licking County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States, and is ranked 536th of the 3143 counties in order of median property taxes. 79 The average yearly property tax paid by Licking County residents amounts to about 2.87% of their yearly income. 80 Licking County is ranked 678th of the 3143 counties for property taxes as a percentage of median income. 81 Licking County and its townships and cities as well as the state of Ohio utilize tax incentives to address cost of doing business issues in the region. Compared to neighboring ex-urban county Delaware, Licking County utilizes the economic development incentives permitted under Ohio law as outlined by the chart below. County Enterprise Zones Enterprise Zone Agreements Community Reinvestment Area Districts Community Reinvestment Area Agreements Licking County Delaware County Tax Increment Financing Agreements Source: Montrose Analysis Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

51 swot analysis Strengths Central Ohio Marketplace Growing Population Transportation, Site & Infrastructure Assets Quality Local Workforce Development Programs Opportunities SR 161 Highway Expansion Foreign Direct Investment Growth of STEM jobs Weaknesses Stagnet Ohio Growth Lower Education Levels Abundance of Low-wage Service Jobs North-South Transportation Network Threats Automation Neighboring Counties Capturing Knowledge Workers Manufacturing Skills Gap Strengths Central Ohio Marketplace. Licking County is in the Columbus MSA, a region that is poised to grow by 500,000 people in the coming decades. The region is adding a considerable amount of knowledge workers that may add to the economic base of Licking County. Growing Population. Licking County s population has grown by 3.4% in the last five years and that growth is not expected to slow in the coming decades as the region grows. Transportation, Site and Infrastructure. With I-70 and SR 161/16 running east to west through the County, both 4-lane highways, an active rail network in the Central and Ohio River Railroad, an easy commute to John Glenn International Airport, and sewer and water infrastructure throughout the county, Licking County has an abundance of transportation and infrastructure assets to build upon that has created a number of shovel ready sites primed for development. Local Workforce Programs. Licking County has a good start on the development of local workforce programs and access to the Ohio State University Newark Branch as well as COTC that can provide local workforce development training for area employers. Weaknesses Stagnant Ohio Growth. Ohio s average annual GDP growth over the last decade has not kept pace with its neighboring states in the Midwest. As one of the state s larger Counties, this is troubling for Licking County as it tries to grow its own GDP. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

52 Lower Education Levels. To capture a greater amount of the knowledge occupations and companies that have grown in Central Ohio and will grow moving forward, Licking County needs a greater share of its populace with a bachelor s degree. Abundance of Low-Wage Service Jobs. The largest industry sector growth in Licking County in the last decade has been in the service sector, offering jobs that pay $300 less per week than higher-wage manufacturing. North-South Transportation Network. Licking County s east-west transportation network is strong, but the links between I-70 and SR 161/16 are mostly two-lane state and county routes. To capture greater growth in the County and link population centers, these north-south connections need to be expanded. Opportunities SR 161 Expansion. The expansion of SR 161 into a four-lane highway has created significant development potential for Licking County as the drive-time between Columbus and Newark has been halved. The improvements at Mink St. and Thornwood Dr/Central Parkway create additional opportunities for economic development growth in Licking County. Foreign Direct Investment. Investment in the United States by Chinese firms grew by 396% from 2014 to This growth will only increase as Chinese companies look to invest in growth areas outside of China. Most of the growth will come in manufacturing, and Licking County has the potential to attract investment from China as well as Japan and European countries based on its industrial clusters, transportation, infrastructure and energy assets. Growth of STEM Jobs. Licking has an opportunity to capture more white collar and blue collar jobs in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields by capitalizing on the Advanced Materials R&D Corridor. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

53 Threats Automation. The disruptive forces that are building to automate the manufacturing, finance and insurance, and service sectors will have a fundamental impact on the economic future of Licking County. The County s ability to adapt to these changes and educate, attract and retain knowledge workers will impact all economic development efforts. Neighboring Counties Capturing Knowledge Workers. As Licking County competes for jobs and capital investment going forward, a large threat are the counties around Licking residents are more highly educated and who have a larger base of knowledge workers presently whose knowledge workers and the jobs of the future. Licking County needs to adapt its economic development policies and programs to turn this threat into an opportunity. Manufacturing Skills Gap. As with most regions, Licking County manufacturers reported concerns about skills gap among potential workers in the manufacturing sector in particular that needs to be addresses to retain as well as to attract new high-wage, manufacturing jobs to the region. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

54 community assessment Community Assessment With any strategic planning effort, gathering the feedback of local business leaders, civic leaders and the public at-large is an integral way to understand core community issues and discover new opportunities for growth. Involving participants from across the community also enables planners to gauge the likelihood that recommended strategies will be accepted and adopted. Public engagement for Licking County was accomplished in two stages: Targeted listening sessions with local business and community leaders; and Public meetings Listening Sessions Report Starting in July of 2017 Montrose and the GROW Licking County economic development team conducted 16 listening sessions and meetings with elected officials and business and community leaders from across the County. The listening sessions had anywhere from 2 to 10 participants and GROW Licking County Listening included individuals from various sectors Sessions Top Identified Challenges including from business, utilities, development, education, real estate, government, elected Available workforce Lack of skilled trades office, civic organizations, and not-for-profit Transportation organizations. In all, more than 50 individuals North/south routes needed to connect I-70 participated in the listening sessions and and SR-161 meetings. Each participant was given the Public transportation, not serving the needs questionnaire ahead of time included as of employers and low skilled workers Too many organizations doing economic Appendix A and asked to think through and development in Licking County answer the questions. The listening sessions Housing availability were instructive and provided the GROW Less poverty and more diversity moving forward Licking County team and Montrose team the Product development is critical; need opportunity to understand what the community developable, job ready sites Investment in broadband and sewer and water wants to be. The challenges identified in the infrastructure in growing areas listening sessions fit into several different categories outlined in the chart below. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

55 Each listening session provided its own flavor on the current state of economic development in the County and the future state of economic development in the County. Largely based on the participants, the tone and tenor was different for each session. Common elements came through in each session, however that can help guide the County in its decision-making process about economic development issues and investments. Taking the responses to the questionnaire and categorizing and summarizing the input from the listening sessions includes: What is your understanding/impression of economic development efforts of Licking County? Overall gets a 4 out of 5 rating. Effectiveness going forward is GROW s ability to make property developable. Entities and organizations are taking more risk and chances than in the past. More collaboration today across all sectors than in the past. Plenty of activity and movement to try to attract new business. Licking County is best from an economic development perspective in the region. Perception has changed that if you live here you need to go work in Columbus. GROW is a good liaison to community providing communication of development efforts. Getting big wins through the county. Other counties would be envious. Overall the strategy is strong. GROW is an asset and working well. GROW has infrastructure in place with staff and dedicated funding source. Prior to GROW development efforts were fragmented. Number one job of GROW is attraction efforts; organically developing leads. Generating leads through ROI and other sources is the way to go. Need to focus on BR&E efforts. Number one challenge is that company s HQ are someplace other than Licking Co. GROW needs to facilitate but not be the leader of all efforts. What occupations and industries does Licking County need to focus its workforce developments efforts on to capitalize on the jobs of the future? Technology, customer service jobs/call center jobs. Entry level jobs today are in manufacturing; we need more variety and diversity. Ensure high-wage jobs are available for those that do not pursue a college degree. Research and Development Do not look at jobs that are here today, but turn towards future jobs. Ancillary businesses connected to larger employers. Multi-craft maintenance is the way to go and need more people to fill those jobs. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

56 Manufacturing. Focus is on automation with IT and computer programming. Need to upskill existing manufacturing workforce. Seeing a surge in healthcare. CTEC is offering STNA programming, per-requisite for COTC nursing programming. Human Machine Interface, programmable logic controller, PLC Programming; need employees that can troubleshoot to fix those computers and machines and robots. Data analytics. What needs to be done keep young people in Licking County? Need to have centralized hubs of activity. Mixed used developments. Investment in downtown Newark is having the impact of getting people to want to move back to LC. Need more of that activity. Have a lot of things to do in Licking, we just need to publicize it more. BeanStalk, Albany, NY program. Getting college students rooted to stay in community. Need a cultural shift to get people to want to stay and work here. Jobs that will keep young people here. Not just manufacturing jobs. Millennials are getting older and need to be in affordable place. Cost of living is a huge benefit of the county. Rotary, Kiwanis and other community groups and events are a big draw. Have to get younger people more engaged in leadership positions. Need communication and education on committees and organizations available in the County. What educational and training programs are not being addressed with today s workforce efforts in Licking County? Need a workforce development think tank. Skilled trades need a seat at the table of every single high school like colleges and military get. Kids need to know there is something other than retail and restaurants. Need skilled trades people. STEM is great but we are losing track of trades. Education program needed to get kids out of high school and straight into manufacturing jobs. Need to look for refugees and immigrants to fill jobs that are not being filled. CTEC is doing some robotics training at high school but not doing enough. Develop a pathway from high school robotics into adult program. Mobile workforce program, take a bus around to schools to let them know what STEM and manufacturing look like. Need every level of worker to help communities survive. Need to growing list of companies that will take international students from Denison. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

57 What are the biggest challenges for Licking Co and how do we address them? Workforce is our biggest challenge. Number one challenge to attracting and keeping employers. Workforce is the natural resource of today. Difficult to find lowest tier of manufacturing jobs. Need to pool workforce efforts of manufacturers Infrastructure needs. Better transportation and public transportation. Fiber optic. Sewer. No water and sewer along SR 161. Sewer/water, challenge from New Albany all the way to Newark. Development follows sewer lines. Growing existing business should be a greater focus not just attraction. Big money people are afraid of the younger generation; young people are committed to being here. Use them for their talents. How would you define success a decade from now regarding economic development? Less poverty, more diversity. Focus on decreasing poverty level; strategically position ourselves to provide opportunities for all people. Place where people want to live, work and play in a healthy way. Continual population growth. Solved underemployment problem. Smart growth; learning lessons from other communities. Controlled and managed growth; maintain character but still have growth. Keep the young people at home. Need leadership and champion for incentives. Balance between class 1 and class 2 tax base; state average is 75/25 and need to get to that goal. Equality between commercial and residential. Less burden on residential. Diversity of organizations and businesses. Better range of housing options. What investments need to be made or continued to be made in the County around transportation, infrastructure and workforce? Public transportation. Anomatic has people walking to work or can t get to work because of lack of transportation. Transportation infrastructure. Main corridors are bottlenecks. SR 16 and SR 310 are 2-lane roads until you get to SR 161. Thornwood Crossing was a huge help. Water and sewer between New Albany and Granville and Johnstown. Broadband infrastructure. Granville, Alexandria and other rural parts of the County don t have technology infrastructure to attract new business. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

58 Investment in training. Need to have local training programs. Apprenticeship programs. Poor cell coverage in certain parts of the County. Affordable housing. Are the business and education communities adequately aligned and communicating to address workforce issues? There is no education consortium amongst Licking County entities. There is a disconnect; employers say what they need and educators say they provide it but there is still a gap. CTEC, COTC and OSU seem to work well together to develop new programs for businesses. Businesses are being asked to attend too many meetings. A Business-Education Consortium needs to develop to bring all businesses and educational institutions together on a regular basis and talk through workforce needs. Provide a program for educators and guidance counselors in the summer to educate them on manufacturing. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

59 licking county site development Licking County has no shortage of sites primed for development. The Pataskala Corporate Park promotes having 500 acres of shovel-ready manufacturing and corporate park potential sites. The Central Ohio Aerospace & Technology Center Campus is another strong site primed for manufacturing, aerospace and technology development. The Mid- Ohio Industrial Park has a large tract of land primed for development along State Route 79, and the Paramount Building is fully outfitted for multi-functional, office tenants. The Etna Corporate Park has a shovel ready site that includes a 50,000-square foot building pad and easy access to I-70 focused on industrial and distribution. The Prologis Park 70 houses 300+ acres of highly-developed industrial space with existing facilities, and numerous opportunities for construction and expansion. A 144-acre site is primed for development in western Licking County at Mink Street and Refugee Road. 670 Kaiser Drive is home to a new 50,000 sq. ft. speculative building located in the Central Ohio Aerospace & Technology Campus in Heath. 704 International Drive has a 20,000-sq. ft. of expandable, finished-to-suit industrial building planned for construction on the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center campus. Farmview is 65 acres available for development on Etna Parkway. 160 North High Street houses 82,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and warehouse space available for lease in the Newark Ohio Industrial Park. The Granville Business Park offers space for industrial, call/data center, and research users. Of course the former Longaberger corporate headquarters is available for development as is 444 Hebron Road which offers 748,908 square feet of industrial space available with great access located on State Route 79 in Heath. Also, the Johnstown Industrial Park is located directly off of US 62 in Johnstown, the Johnstown Industrial Park has fast access to the entire central Ohio region and the Columbus outer-belt and I Milliken Drive offers 19,200 sq. ft. of light manufacturing/warehouse space. Additional outside covered storage available on site. Building was renovated inside and out between Finally, 111 Enterprise Drive offers a newly recondition 400,000+ sqft industrial building in the Newark Ohio Industrial Park. Licking County is also strategically located to the Top 30 major metropolitan area of Columbus along several transportation corridors connecting the county to larger markets. Licking County does not lack sites primed for industrial or office development. What it needs is to ensure it has the workforce capable of serving new, global manufacturers and high-technology companies seeking new sites for development and to implement the marketing campaign outlined above to connect with these companies. This was the consistent message heard during the listening sessions conducted as part of the GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

60 Licking County Comprehensive Economic Development Action Plan Executive Summary By the year 2025: Add 5,000 new jobs Increase the median household income by $5000 Add $200 million in new payroll Attract $750 million in capital investment Goals Objectives Retain and expand all major private sector employers in the county Attract new major private-sector employers into the county Be a leader in the attraction of jobs in advanced materials and STEM fields Strategies Develop GROW Licking County into the premier economic development organization in Central Ohio Capitalize on major roadway infrastructure and existing office and industrial site investments to retain and attract high-wage jobs Focus on global, advanced services and technology industries for future growth by capitalizing on an advanced manufacturing workforce program Redevelop the core of older urban communities to attract Millennials and spur urban investment Tactics GROW Licking County in conjunction with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce should implement a fundraising campaign to attract more public and private sector investors to its economic development efforts. GROW Licking County should implement an aggressive Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program starting with the retention of existing companies through one on one interviews GROW Licking County should launch Go Global Licking County to implement a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export campaign to support existing advanced manufacturing employers and attracting new advanced manufacturing and high-technology centers to the region. GROW Licking County should facilitate the creation of a global research and development park focused on advanced materials in Licking County GROW Licking County, through Workenomics, should endeavor to promote an occupational marketing campaign that develops a core of certified workers prepared and ready to work in global manufacturing and high-technology companies GROW Licking County should continue to encourage the effort to revitalize Licking County s urban centers GROW Licking County should create the Licking County Infrastructure Bank to directly connect various infrastructure funding and economic development activities Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

61 Licking County Economic Development Action Plan Goals Comprehensive economic development plans all need to start with a goal. Goals need to be aspirational and simply stated taking up no more than one sentence. Comprehensive economic development goals need to be bold and difficult to achieve. Most importantly, comprehensive economic development goals need to focus on the creation of high-wage jobs in industry sectors likely to grow in the region. High-wage jobs are the solution to not just the family budget but they also provide substantially more in tax revenues for local governments and schools. As the table below illustrates, high-growth regions that produce more high-wage jobs benefit from lower property taxes to support high-quality schools as commercial property taxes cover a larger share of the school funding compared to similar residential centers. Elements of an Economic Goal Bold High-Wage Job Focused Targeted Industries Tax Comparison of Ohio Communities Based upon Higher Commercial Property Values Total Assessed Value Principal Commercial Taxpayers Value Commercial Percentage of Total Value Total Direct Property Tax Rate Newark City School District Dublin Schools New Albany Lakota Schools (Butler County) Northwest Local (Hamilton County) $735,178,590 $2,914,821,560 $849,472,320 $2,469,690,500 $1,431,543,850 $56,587,250 $191,447,930 $100,773,700 $149,498,510 $93,689, % 6.57% 11.86% 6.05% 6.54% Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

62 High-wage industry targets can be defined as those in the following sectors: advanced manufacturing; advanced service, technology, global; and energy industries. Advanced manufacturing has a dramatic impact on a region s economic growth. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Manufacturing workers from Licking County averaged $943.06, 19.9% higher than the nonmanufacturing average of $ However, according Economic Development Goal to the U.S. Department of Labor, as it now only takes 170 workers to manufacture what it took 1000 in 1950, no Within five years, Licking County will add five thousand high-wage jobs in region can succeed on manufacturing alone. global, advanced services, and technology Thus, Licking County economic development goal needs industries, add $200 million in new payroll, attract $750 million in capital to be focused on high-wage job creation in high-growth investment, and increase the median industries likely to locate in the region. The economic household income by $5,000 benefits of this high-wage job creation need to benefit the rich and poor alike and result in an overall economic benefit for the region. Licking County Economic Development Action Plan Objectives Comprehensive economic development plan objectives are numeric measures of success that need to be used annually to determine the success or failure of the plan. These objectives need to align not just with the goal of the plan but also the strategies and tactics. Metrics Licking County Economic are essential to measure success for an economic Development Objectives development strategic plan. Reviewing simple measures of success in a silo such as unemployment Retain and expand all major private sector rate, poverty and personal income without comparing employers in the county a region s economy to others creates a weak measure Attract new major private-sector employers into the county of success. Successful economic development is Be a leader in the retention and attraction not redeveloping a community eyesore but creates of jobs in advanced materials and STEM additionally community wealth. fields Licking County needs to focus on the creation of high-wage jobs that can largely be accomplished through the retention and attraction of private sector companies to the county. As a mid-sized, rural Ohio county, Licking County should first focus objectives on retention of the current employer base. However, the over reliance the county has on government based jobs dictates a substantial new measure be established for the attraction of new high-wage jobs to the county. Again, these high-wage jobs need to be focused on advanced services, advanced manufacturing and technology firms. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

63 As the largest challenge Licking County faces is the lack of available of a skilled manufacturing workforce, no objective tied to developing more jobs in the manufacturing industry is possible without a workforce development program. Licking County Economic Development Action Plan Strategies Once an economic development goal and clear objectives are established, the next step in creating an economic development strategic plan is adopting the strategies essential for success. Economic development tactics launched without a well thought out strategy dooms an effort to failure. Few communities adopt only a single economic development strategy. Often, communities adopt too many strategies. Strategies can create both offensive and defensive oriented strategies to incentivize the creation of high-wage jobs. Most regions across America are implementing economic development policy to address these economic challenges through basic building block economic development strategies. A smaller number of regions are truly increasing the wealth of their residents through targeted industry based strategies. Building block economic development strategies prepare sites for development through land use planning, and annexation but they also address infrastructure development, workforce, tax policy and quality of life issues. These basic economic development strategies form the majority of the work for the typical city or state economic development department. It may not be sexy but making sure a site for a high-wage job opportunity is zoned properly, has the infrastructure in place and a ready workforce are fundamental steps for any economic development project to get off the ground. Quality of life matters too as the lack of availability of workforce housing and high crime impacts high-wage job creation. Economic Development Building Blocks Land Use Infrastructure Workforce Tax Policy Quality of Life Five Pillars of Economic Development Energy Technology Advanced Services Advanced Manufacturing Globalism Basic or building block economic development strategies are not enough in a competitive global economy. Successful regional economies illustrate a select number of winning pro-active job retention and attraction campaigns develop high-wage jobs. These five pillars of economic development focus on Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

64 advanced manufacturing, energy lead economic development, technology based economic development, globalism and the white collar service industry. Licking County Economic Development Strategies Capitalize on major roadway infrastructure and existing site investments to retain and attract major employers Focus on global, advanced services and technology industries for future growth Redevelop the core of older communities to attract Millennials and spur urban investment Licking County Economic Development Action Plan Tactics Economic development action plan tactics are specific steps that provide a roadmap for a community to achieve the goal and objectives and implement the strategies all tied to economic growth. GROW Licking County should implement six action plan tactics that include: 1. GROW Licking County in conjunction with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce should implement a fundraising campaign to attract more public and private sector investors to its economic development efforts. 2. GROW Licking County should implement an aggressive Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program starting with the retention of existing companies through one on one interviews 3. GROW Licking County should launch Go Global Licking County to implement a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export campaign to support existing advanced manufacturing employers and attracting new advanced manufacturing and high-technology centers to the region. 4. GROW Licking County should facilitate the creation of a global research and development park focused on advanced materials in Licking County. 5. GROW Licking County, through Workenomics, should endeavor to promote an occupational marketing campaign that develops a core of certified workers prepared and ready to work in global manufacturing and high-technology companies 6. GROW Licking County should continue to encourage the efforts to revitalize Licking County s urban centers. 7. GROW Licking County should create a Licking County Infrastructure Bank to directly connect various infrastructure funding and economic development activities. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

65 GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 1- Implement a fundraising campaign in conjunction with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce to attract more public and private sector investors by: Establishing a Board Driven Fundraising Committee to identify strategic partnerships. Developing a fundraising goal that is realistic and can be applied to the economic development efforts of GROW Licking County. Using the GROW Licking County Economic Development Action Plan as a basis to approach existing and new investors to take ownership of the Action Plan and become stewards in its success through Expand the Fundraising Committee to include outside local business and community leaders with influence in economic development. Setting up focus groups and one-on-one interviews with new and prospective investors to gauge their level of interest in investing in GROW Licking County. Successful economic development organizations in Ohio and across the country are able to meet job retention, job creation, capital investment, and income levels through a combination of financial and voluntary support from the public and private sectors. Progressive communities acquire wealth by utilizing all available resources of a market including fiscal, natural, human, private, governmental and all others to enhance the economic security and quality of life of its residents. There are two primary goals of an economic development action plan and program: Increase the flow of money into a community Retard the flow of money out of a community By accomplishing these two goals, the entire economy of an area is enhanced as the total wealth in the community increases, benefiting all citizens. GROW Licking County, in collaboration with the Licking County Chamber of Commerce must look for additional resources to enhance its efforts in: Business Retention and Expansion Program Go Global Licking County Attraction Program Developing the Advanced Materials R&D Corridor Creating the Licking County Infrastructure Bank Communities in Ohio, that Licking County competes with daily for expansion and attraction projects are dedicating considerable public and private resources to their economic development efforts. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

66 Organization Annual Budget Staff Population Circleville-Pickaway CIC $390, ,565 Henry County CIC $175, ,629 Lucas County CIC $2,525, ,488 Springfield-Clark Co CIC $872, ,786 EDFA of Tuscarawas $1,709, ,420 Lake County Port & ED Authority $674, ,614 Warren County Port Authority $555, ,063 For a County of its size and magnitude with numerous economic development opportunities ahead of it, Licking County needs additional funding and staffing to achieve economic development success and implement the recommendations in this plan. GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 2- Launch Business Retention and Expansion program to help expand existing companies in Licking County by: Through partnerships with local and regional stakeholders, develop an annual list of targeted companies based on defined factors, including but not limited to, market growth, hiring trends, state or regional targeting. Coordinating the BR&E program with representatives from Workenomics, local government representatives, state or regional partners, and workforce development partners. Meeting with local company executives to gather input on the issues they face and addressing their issues to help these companies grow in the County. Facilitate conversations with decision makers to aid a company s issues related access to capital, addressing regulatory issues, better transportation access, and other business and policy issues. Adequately funding operations, through investment by the Fundraising Committee, annually to provide proper funding of the BR&E program to ensure that proper staffing and promotion of Licking County is available. Investing in BR&E software and surveys to gather data from local companies. Growing High-Wage Jobs Through an Expanded Business Retention and Expansion Program With a large base of existing companies and substantial number of sites primed for development on major state and interstate highways, GROW Licking County should expand its current BR&E program to Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

67 expand its economic base. Existing companies produce 80 percent of a region s new jobs. 83 The economic success of a region starts with a successful existing job retention program. A job retention campaign is referred to as a Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program. BR&E Programs are broken down into multiple phases all geared toward keeping and developing new jobs from a region s existing base of companies. GROW Licking County Business Retention & Expansion Campaign GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 3- Launch the Go Global Licking County campaign to retain and attract global employers through exports and FDI that includes: Participating with Columbus 2020 in organized FDI related global trips to market Licking County. Revising GROW Licking County s website to include FDI and exports information. Defining the benefits of Licking County that would be attractive to global companies that includes their connection to area employers, strategic Central Ohio location, critical infrastructure, available workforce, quality of life, available sites, wage rates and tax and labor policies. Annually review leads generated by contracted entities to align with FDI goals of the organizations. Recruiting a Go Global Licking County Board of Advisors to serve as a resource to coordinate FDI and export activity among local firms. Creating a global nation target list for exports that includes a review of the country s political stability, economy, social scalability, technology advancements, regulations, export process, regions to focus on, global distributor relationships, export-import fees, freight forwarding fees, import duty fees, intellectual property protections, etc. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

68 Creating the Go Global Licking County Campaign by attracting an additional investment through the fundraising campaign to fund a staff member or consultant to implement the campaign and cover the cost of global trips, trade missions, and trade shows. Coordinating advertisements and direct contact campaign through social media sites such as LinkedIn, Google and industry trade association sites to drive traffic to the local economic development website. Developing capital access strategies to fund export activities for Licking County companies from state of Ohio IMAGE grants and Federal grants. Developing Peer to Peer Campaigns to introduce the region to global company s prospects by local company leaders for both export and FDI opportunities. Growing the Global Market The growth of Licking County cannot succeed on its base of current companies alone. GROW Licking County s best opportunity to recruit companies to the region is to promote the region globally. Globalism represents access to growing markets. 70 percent of the world s customers are outside of the United States. 84 In 2010, U.S. exports of goods and services totaled $1,830,000,000,000 and account for 12.5 percent of the nation s GDP. 85 In 2008, 6,800,000 U.S. jobs were supported by U.S. manufactured export and U.S. companies that export grow faster and are less likely to go out of business as compared to nonexporters. 86 Globalism represents higher wages for American workers employed by global firms in the United States. The average annual compensation at foreign-owned firms typically exceeds $73, U.S. affiliates of foreign companies in 2009 invested $40,000,000,000 on research and development and $183,000,000,000 on plants and equipment. 88 As manufacturing moves from the United States to global locations, American companies have no choice but to sell to these same global markets. That is where the customers and money is. A region s manufacturing sector cannot succeed unless they develop an aggressive export strategy. Exports are an economic driver in the American economy. American exports support 11,800,000 jobs nationally and 7,700,000 jobs in the top 100 metro areas. 89 These jobs amount to 8.3 percent of the nation s employment and 8.1 percent of all employment in the largest 100 metros. 90 Regions attracting FDI from global companies reap economic benefits. FDI is measured by the investment of majority-owned U.S. affiliates of foreign-domiciled companies. These firms produce $670,000,000,000 in goods and services. 91 These same firms invest $188,000,000,000 in capital expenditures and account for over 11 percent of total U.S. private capital investment. 92 Firms linked to FDI also lead in research and development. They produce $40,500,000,000 in research and development and account for over 14 percent of total U.S. private investment in research and development. 93 These firms also export more than 18 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports. 94 FDI firms pay 30 percent wages than other U.S. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

69 jobs. 95 These firms paid out wages and other forms of compensation averaging more than $71,000 per U.S. employee. 96 The GROW Licking County FDI campaign needs to center on the action steps outlined above. GROW Licking County must understand FDI is divided into greenfield investment (creation of new businesses through the development or expansion of production facilities) and mergers and acquisitions of existing businesses. The Internet grows FDI. 97 Its research capability and data collection methods provide information for even the smallest region on global markets. GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic #4- Facilitate the creation of a global research and development park focused on advanced materials in Licking County by: Coordinate with local partners to pursue public funds to aid in the planning and development of a proposed advanced materials research and development park land use master plan. Establishing a research and development relationship with the Ohio State University tied to the Licking County advanced materials research park. Based upon the land use master plan, identifying parcels to create sites ready for development for the Licking County advanced material research park. Marketing the existence of the Licking County advanced material research park through the availability of sites. Further establish a relationship with Ohio State University to target large-scale, advanced materials spin-out R&D opportunities to locate in Licking County Develop relationship with existing advanced materials manufacturers to target their internal R&D needs to be located within Licking County. Develop an Advanced Materials R&D Corridor The existence of the Owens Corning Research and Development Center in Granville creates a substantial opportunity to build a cluster of high-tech manufacturing and research and development centers. The economic success of the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina provides a model for Licking County. Technology jobs are well worth a focus for Licking County. Tech heavy North Carolina s Research Triangle Park produce thousands of jobs paying 45 percent higher wages than the national average. 98 Boston is another global Tech-Based Economic Development Center primarily because of the role of their research universities. Active companies founded by MIT graduates would be the 17th largest economy in the world and an estimated 6,900 MIT alumni companies based in Massachusetts alone have global sales of approximately $164,000,000,000- representing 26 percent of the sales of all Massachusetts Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

70 companies. 99 MIT s influence extends beyond Massachusetts as 4,100 MIT alumni-founded firms are based in California, and generate an estimated $134,000,000,000 in worldwide sales. The Silicon Valley story is well known. Half of the nation s tech based venture capital, which drives the location of most early stage tech stars, comes from Northern California. Regions and states aspire to be Silicon Valley, Route 128 in Boston and the Research Triangle Park. However, achieving that goal requires the implementation of a technology based economic development strategy. The existence of the Owens Corning Research and Development Center in Granville creates an opportunity for company attraction in the advanced materials marketplace. According to a recently industry report, the advanced materials market was valued a $ B in 2015 and is anticipated to reach $ B by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 10.4% between 2016 and Advanced Materials generally have superior properties than conventional materials available. 101 They can outperform conventional materials, in terms of their applications, and they are materials that are novel or have undergone modifications in existing materials to gain superior performance with respect to one or more characteristics that are essential for the applications under consideration. 102 The advanced materials products are segmented as follows: ceramics, glasses, polymers, composites and metals & alloys. 103 Ceramics have been the popular choice of material for medical applications since the last few years, and this trend is anticipated to continue in the next few years. 104 Major reason behind high consumption of composites is that they can be massproduced as per requirement and have a vast number of applications (such as construction, automotive, oil & gas), which are expected to continue to increase. 105 The demand for advanced materials products is estimated to grow during the forecast period due to rising demand of high performance materials with properties such as high specific strength, stiffness, excellent fatigue and abrasion resistance. 106 Major applications of advanced materials are observed in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and electricals & electronics, and they are also used in medical devices, power industry along with serving industrial purposes. 107 The automotive industry is currently tackling increasing demands for improvements in fuel economy and emission control. 108 Therefore, there is a great deal of interest in the usage of advanced materials to produce lightweight vehicles, and electricals & electronics, especially consumer goods, is a rapidly growing industry due to constant developments in mobile phones and laptops. North America and Europe are major regions for the global advanced materials market. 110 This is due to large production capacity available and sophistication with the advancement of technologies in these regions, and the market in a region is dependent on its industrial developments. Different regions are expected to continue performing unevenly, with North America exhibiting the leading growth rate. 111 As climate change statistics are continuously rising, there s growing pressure from all areas - consumers, businesses, and governments - to search for more eco-friendly manufacturing techniques, and this acts as another opportunity for advanced materials market because of always advancing technologies that are used for production of advanced materials. 112 Advanced materials is a promising technology transforming the Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

71 global manufacturing industry, especially in its replacement of plastics and metals with ceramics and composites in high-performance applications. 113 The market is anticipated to undergo constant changes due to emerging technologies in various segments, as any advancement carried out on existing products results in the inclusion of the modified product in the existing market, and limited number of players operate in the advanced materials market. 114 Their share of R&D expenditure is expected to reflect on the overall investment in R&D for advanced materials. 115 Major players in the Advanced Materials market include 3M Advanced Materials, Morgan Advanced Materials plc, Huntsman Corporation, Hexcel Corporation, Hanwa Group, and Materion Corporation. 116 Advanced Materials Market Segments 117 Product Analysis Application Analysis Regional Analysis Ceramics Glasses Polymers Composites Metals & Alloys Medical devices Automotive Aerospace Electricals & Electronics Industrial Power Others North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Several existing advanced material research parks existing including the Advanced Material Research Lab at Clemson University in South Carolina, the Advanced Material Research Institute at the University of New Orleans, Innovation Park at Penn State University and the Licking Research Park in the state of Licking. The existence of these research parks illustrates the growth potential of this marketplace but also illustrates that a similar research park does not exist in the state of Ohio clearing the way for the Licking County Advanced Material Research Park to succeed. GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 5- Workenomics should endeavor to promote an occupational marketing campaign that develops a core of certified workers prepared and ready to work in global manufacturing and high-technology companies by: Identifying workforce and industry partners to develop a skills gap/human resources committee to specifically monitor, address and provide programming for the community s existing skills gap. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

72 Promoting Project Prepare and Workenomics amongst middle and high-school guidance counselors, teachers and students as well as with those seeking work in the region. Create and distribute a workforce survey to area manufacturers to identify the specific occupations where a skills gap exists. Coordinate with existing industry, various school districts, and Workenomics to develop internships and apprenticeships programming. Bus tours of manufacturers in Licking County for students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors. Raising funds from area companies, local governments and the state of Ohio to create a pool of funding that students can use for scholarships at Licking County educational institutions and apprenticeships at local businesses. General education and marketing of students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors through social media, traditional media, and outreach in the schools. Create an Occupational Marketing Campaign Through the programs at CTEC and Central Ohio Technical College, and the work that has been done by Workenomics and Project Prepare, Licking County has done a great deal to address the workforce needs of its existing employers. The C-TEC Edge Manufacturing Certification Program, developed in partnership with 20 Licking County manufacturing firms to provide targeted training for a variety of manufacturing positions, is just one example of how these development partners are able to create unique, customized training partnerships for your company s production needs and help your business recruit, retain, and develop employees with high-value technical skills, multiple professional certifications, and 4-year degrees. 118 Workenomics is a cooperative effort to support and coordinate private and public sector economic and workforce development in Licking County to meet companies training needs. 119 Licking County s Project Prepare is a two-phase initiative developed to encourage interest in skilled trades and manufacturing among all age groups from high school students to employed adults. 120 This proactive approach has been in development since early 2015 and continues to gain momentum and support from local schools and businesses within the Licking County community. 121 Many communities in Licking County have jobs open and going unfilled. Ohiomeansjobs.org is the state of Ohio web portal that connects employers with open jobs with workers seeking jobs. According to Ohiomeansjobs.org, Newark, Ohio has 1311 open jobs within 10 miles of Licking County s seat of county government. Licking County has a 4.4% unemployment rate but residents must lack the skills to fill these current open jobs in Licking County. Even more telling is that there are 374 open jobs in the manufacturing sector within 20 miles of Newark, Ohio. Licking County is battling aggressively to retain Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

73 and attract new manufacturing jobs but they are having trouble even filling all the manufacturing jobs currently in the County. Based upon interviews with Licking County employers, there is a dramatic concern about the lack of skilled workers particularly in the manufacturing industry. Much of the discussion during one on one and focus group discussions with employers and economic development leaders in all corners of Licking County focused on the concern with engaging young workers in the manufacturing process. Based upon actual open job data and employer input, it is clear Licking County does in fact face a skilled workforce shortage. The key to getting parents, teachers and guidance counselors to again direct students into manufacturing is through a targeted education and marketing campaign. Employers across the board, in focus group and one-on-one interviews have expressed an interest in getting more students in the workplace to address the skills gap. The occupational marketing campaign allows for business and industry to come together with education and government to make sure that high-wage jobs are no longer going unfilled in Licking County. GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 6- Continue to encourage the efforts to revitalize Licking County s urban centers by: Develop a library of resources for local community partners to access fact sheets on community and economic development programs to aid in their community goals. Serve as a conduit for various community and economic development programs for community s to utilize. Aid in strategizing with various Public Works Departments and Administrations to incorporate Smart City Initiatives (WIFI-enabled street lights, public WIFI options, inclusion of Fiber Optic strategies in projects). Launch redevelopment strategies for the Downtowns in Newark, Johnstown, Granville and Pataskala centered on a range of financing programs such as the Ohio D Program, Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit, creation of Downtown Community Funds, build Smart Cities and advocacy for state of Ohio Capital Budget Community Project funding. 1. Launch Multiple Ohio D Programs- The certified historic properties located in Licking County should consider implementing an Ohio D to finance the redevelopment of the historic property, fund infrastructure, a historic group or an innovation district if the required Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

74 broadband is available. Communities in Licking County should follow the six steps listed below to implement the Ds by: a. Focusing on historic preservation certification and renovation plan; b. Completing a D and Innovation District economic development plan; c. Adopting a D financial model; d. Building a D Innovation District; e. Adopting the D District ordinance, holding the public hearing & filing annual reports. and f. Negotiating D agreements with building owners, school board and other funders. 2. Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit- Licking County certified historic properties should seek state and federal historic preservation tax credits that may be worth over $1,000,000 by seeking Round 19 Funding from the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits by following the application deadline listed below.: a. SHPO Pre-App Meeting Request Deadline: February 1, 2018; b. Intent to Apply and SHPO Pre-Application Meeting Deadline: February 15, 2018; c. Historic Documentation (Part 1 and 2) Deadline: February 28, 2018 by 5:00; d. Application/Fee Submission Deadline: March 30, 2018 by 5:00; e. Application Review Period: April 1 June 1, 2018; and f. Approved Applications Announced: On or before June 30, State Capital Budget Bill Community Project Funding- A substantial funding opportunity exists for Downtown communities throughout Licking County exists through the upcoming state of Ohio Capital Budget Bill Community Project Funding. As the state Capital Budget is planned to be introduced in early 2018, organizations seeking Community Project funding should immediately begin lobbying for state funding by: a. Develop a project request that is part of arts, sports, or economic development project that is capital in nature and tied to a state agency through the Ohio Facilities Commission or a joint use agreement with a university; b. Create a business plan for the project that illustrates its long term financial sustainability; and c. Lobbying for the funding requests with the Governor, and leadership of the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate. 4. Build Smart City Initiatives- The cities of Newark, Pataskala, Granville, and Johnstown should implement Smart City strategies tied to the creation of a sensor network on electric, streetlight or telecommunications poles that can serve as a network that addresses electric power, public safety, public service, traffic and other government services needed in the 21st Century. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

75 5. Create a Downtown Licking County Community Investment Fund- GROW Licking County and local private sector leaders should partner and establish a Licking County Community Investment Fund to provide gap financing for redevelopment projects and for small business and entrepreneurs by developing gap financing for small business and entrepreneurs, and redevelopment project investments. The goal will be to raise funds over a 2-year timeframe from banks, foundations, and individuals from in and around the community, Licking County, and local foundations to provide unsecured loans, subordinated loans, convertible debt, royalty finance, and warrants and options. Grow Inward to Retain and Attract Millennials and Entrepreneurs The onslaught of automation in the manufacturing and advanced services sector dictates all communities look to grow inward to attract the next generation of worker and entrepreneur in the Millennial generation. Licking County is no different. Downtown communities across Licking County also offers an interesting development opportunity. That economic development opportunity is tied to redevelopment of historic structures. Downtown Redevelopment Strategies Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

76 A D economic development plan should focus on the creation of high-wage jobs through the creation of walkable, high-quality Central Business Districts focused on white collar service, high-tech, arts, entertainment and accommodation jobs. As the chart below illustrates, numerous strategies exist to incentivize and finance Downtown redevelopment. Downtown Community Investment Fund A trend nationally, led by groups such as the Nebraska Community Foundation and its Hometown Competitiveness Network, 122 that is also starting to take root in Ohio in communities such as West Carrollton is a Community Investment Fund. A Community Investment Fund combines capital from government, banks, foundations and individual investors. The Community Capital Fund in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts is a great example of a community fund that combines resources from banks, individuals and foundations to fund agriculture and food processing businesses. 123 A successful Community Investment Fund provides funding for companies and development projects to stimulate growth and create jobs and wealth in a community. A Community Investment Fund typically fills a gap that is not being met solely by the private sector and is often a compliment to private sector funding. Alternative capital can come from any number of sources; government resources including loans and grants, angel investors, venture capital, pre-seed funds, and community resources. Communities that understand this need and address this need and devote resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs will win in the end by creating more and sustainable jobs for its citizens. State of Ohio Capital Budget Community Projects Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

77 In even numbered years, the Ohio General Assembly enacts a state of Ohio Capital Budget bill that provides for state funding for agencies, universities, schools and community projects tied to the arts and economic development. Capital budget community projects are often tied to the redevelopment of historic structures in Ohio such as theaters, museums, office and university buildings. Recently, the Ohio General Assembly enacted the FY state capital budget bill, Senate Bill 310, and it included a wide range of community projects. SB 310 Highlights include: $1.25 billion in Capital Bill Community Project requests; $156 million in Capital Bill Community Project awards compared to $166M last time; 358 Capital Bill Community Project awards compared to 280 last time; and $608,000 average award in Capital Bill Community Projects compared to $346,000 last time. Arts and museum projects topped the list of winners in SB 310 and in the most recent prior state capital bill. Downtown Redevelopment Districts Ohio municipal corporations can create downtown redevelopment districts (Ds) and innovation districts to promote rehab of historic buildings if a city has a certified historic structure, creates a district as large as 10 contiguous acres around that historic structure and develops a D economic development plan under recently enacted HB 233. Six steps exist to redevelopment historic property using Ds. 1. Historic Preservation Certification and Renovation Plan. The D process begins with the identification of a certified historic structure or undertakes the process of gaining that historic certification. D historic certification is accomplished through four different routes including if a building is on the National Register of Historic Places, contributes to a National Register Historic District, located in a National Park Service Certified Historic District or a Certified Local Government Historic District. Historic preservation certification also requires an approved renovation plan to keep historic building historic. 2. Complete a D and Innovation District Economic Development Plan. D districts must have an economic development plan. A D economic development plan should identify the redevelopment project costs including building, infrastructure and operations, financial modeling of the parcels within 10 acres around the historic structure and review of other tax credits, grants, loans and private contributions to address those costs, a site development plan that considers the economic potential of the D through commercial, mixed use and research market research, determines the D broadband service to see whether the D qualifies as an Innovation District, and outlines that local government process and agreements needed to formally create a D. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

78 3. Adopt a D financial model. Next, the municipality must adopt a D financial model addressing the building, infrastructure and operational costs through a tax exemption up to 70% of the increased value of real property in the D providing the collection of service payments in lieu of taxes from the property owners and redevelopment charges assessed to property owners within the D- both of which may be levied without property owner approval. The D may not be exclusively residential and last for 10 years or 30 years with school board approval. Additional funding for the D can be gained from federal and state historic preservation and new market tax credits and state Capital Bill funding. 4. Build a D Innovation District. Ds with a 100-gigabit broadband level or higher can become an Innovation District. Innovation Districts can use D generated funds to give grants and loans to high-tech companies. The Innovation District designation can ignite a techbased economic development project by providing the capital needed for early stage capital tech companies. 5. Adopt the D District Ordinance, Public Hearing & File Annual Reports. Ds are created through a city ordinance describing the area included in the district, the number of years the D will exist, the economic development plan, ID of the historic building (s) in the district, potential designation of an innovation district within a D, establishment of a special fund for the deposit and dispersal of service payments and redevelopment charges, and acknowledgment that city must file an annual D report to the Ohio Development Services Agency. Finally, the city must hold a public hearing on the proposed D ordinance and give notice of the hearing to each property owner in the district. 6. Negotiate D Agreements with building owners, school board and other funders. Following passage of a D ordinance, municipalities should enter into various agreements with building owners, school board and other funders of the project. Examples of these agreements include local government and school board revenue sharing agreements, development agreements with D participants to outline funding terms of the public-private-partnership and grant and loan agreements from other outside public and private sector funding sources. Historic Preservation Tax Credits Historic preservation is a critical step to redeveloping Downtown. State and federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits offer an important source of funding for historic preservation projects. Saving historic structures can be a key element to an economic development strategy. Historic preservation increases land values and enhances the regional economy. Historic Preservation helped create more than 2 million jobs and $90 billion in investment. 124 Rehab construction creates 50 percent more jobs than new build construction, and historic preservation is a tool local communities can choose to revive neighborhoods, enhance environmental quality and reduce infrastructure costs by promoting development in existing Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

79 areas rather than sprawling out. 125 It is estimated that historic preservation projects save percent in infrastructure costs compared to new suburban development. A 2011 Economic Impact Study of the Ohio Historic Tax Preservation Tax Credit illustrated strong benefits of the program for the Buckeye state. 126 The study showed for every $1 million in tax credit allocated by the state $8 million of construction spending and 80 construction jobs are created. 127 More importantly, $32 million in total economic impact is created by this $1 million in state investment. 128 The federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit proves a 20 percent tax credit for the rehab of certified historic structures, 10 percent federal tax credit for non-historic structures. The state of Ohio offers a 25 percent state tax credit for historic structures with a special $5M Ohio cap. The program is applicable to financial institutions, foreign and domestic insurance premiums or individual income taxes, and used against liability or refunded up to $3 million in one year. In Ohio, the Historic Preservation Tax Credit application process begins with Historic Certification and applications are accepted generally twice a year for a competitive award from the Ohio Development Services Agency. Licking County has nearly a dozen certified historic properties or districts, as illustrated by the table below, that could be prime targets for redevelopment using the state and federal historic preservation tax credit as well as a D to fund public infrastructure or redevelopment of the historic property. Licking County Certified Historic Properties Historic Property/Site Address City Johnstown Jail 66 W Pratt St Johnstown Monroe Township Hall-Opera House 1 S Main St Johnstown Newark Earthworks Roughly bounded by Union, 30th, Newark James, & Waldo Sts, & SR 16 Sherwood-Davidson And West Main & 6th Sts Newark Buckingham Houses Buxton Inn 313 E Broadway Granville Cedar Hill Cemetery Buildings Cedar St Newark Courthouse Center S Park Place & jct of S Park & Newark S 2nd St Newark Downtown Historic District Roughly bounded by Church St, 2nd Newark St, 5th St, & Canal St Shield's Block S Park Place Newark Pataskala Town Hall 430 Main St Pataskala Licking County Courthouse Courthouse Square Newark The redevelopment of the Buxton Inn in Granville is an example of a successful use of an Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit that received a $249,000 Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit in Round 14 of the state funding. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

80 Build Smart City s to Bring Economic Success Smart Communities embrace technology as the key to their economic future. Building and recruiting technology companies is more credible if the local government embraces technology. On the backs of state of the art 5G wireless technology, the development of wireless, small cell networks is creating economic and public service benefits for taxpayers across the nation. Smart Community networks flow over a 5G wireless telecommunications system built on a series of small cell sites and the network serves a range of government and utility services typically through sensors built on streetlight or utility poles throughout a community. This wireless network provides real time public safety and traffic data that helps big and small communities create safer streets and better flows of traffic. Accenture again notes substantial traffic benefits from smart community networks that includes reducing traffic congestion by 40% saving drivers and operators in medium-sized cities approximately $100 million annually. Traffic management systems can help deliver these benefits and, thanks to 5G s ultra-fast speeds, cars will be able to convoy or platoon in groups, increasing road vehicle capacity, while providing substantial energy savings for vehicle owners. And if autonomous cars are supported by Smart Traffic Management systems, congestion could decrease and deliver additional productivity and quality-of-life improvements to residents. Parking applications and energy savings through smart meters through this network offer substantial public benefit as does public safety. Chicago currently uses its 4G network to provide real time video which allows first responders to assess a scene before arriving. Deployment of 5G in a Smart City will enable the integration of all video surveillance, with access to specific locations, pole by pole, in ultrahigh definition. This capability would allow responders to use facial recognition to identify known criminals or spot missing persons before arriving on the scene. More importantly, the collection of this new data source provides a potential private sector revenue model that makes its deployment financially possible for most communities. Communities seeking to develop smart community networks need to embrace the location of private telecommunications company s smart networks, adopt right of way ordinances supportive of this smart network and permit and encourage the building of a sensor network throughout the city that enables the community to run a smart community network. GROW Licking County Economic Development Plan Tactic # 7- Create a Licking County Infrastructure Bank to directly connect various infrastructure funding and economic development activities by: 1. Review best practices for establishing a local RLF focused on infrastructure based projects throughout Licking County 2. Purse identified state and federal funding sources to support the proposed RLF program 3. Evaluate EB-5 funding for targeted, larger-scale transportation projects Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

81 4. Evaluate P3 financing for major transportation projects Licking County Infrastructure Bank Local communities can never have enough infrastructure funding. The challenge lies in gaining infrastructure funding to prepare sites for development. Being able to pool resources through a central entity like GROW Licking County is key to getting projects across the finish line and creating and retaining high wage jobs. GROW Licking County should approach the US Economic Development Administration to fund a revolving loan fund for infrastructure. The Public Works grants from US EDA are applied for and awarded on a rolling basis. The size of the Public Works grants is typically upwards of $1 million. GROW Licking County can use these funds to establish a revolving loan fund for infrastructure projects such as fiber, sewer, water, and roadwork. In addition to the establishment of an economic loan fund, funding for the Licking County Infrastructure Bank could be gained from several sources listed below. Local, State & Federal Government/P3 Infrastructure Finance Program Funding Program Description Local Program Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) Contractual agreements formed between local jurisdictions (cities and townships) to create a new board/political subdivision that is authorized to improve the economic vitality of an area by jointly planning for development, capturing income tax gained and funding project infrastructure. Local Program Downtown Redevelopment Districts Funding gained from up to 70% of the property tax gain and redevelopment charges for up to a 10-acre district surrounding a certified historic structure to pay for historic building rehab, historic group operation, public infrastructure and tech companies if 100 gigabits of broadband service available. Local Program TIFs Captures the planned growth in property tax of a specific development or district to fund defined infrastructure. TIFs are created by local governments through an ordinance or resolution that outlines the TIF timeframe, percentage of the improvement that will be exempted from real property taxes, planned projects at the site, boundaries of the project or district and requirement for Payment in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). TIF proceeds can then be used to pay for statutorily defined infrastructure that includes road construction, parking structure, improvements to water, communication, or sewage lines. 129 Local Program TIDs Multi-local governmental entity reaching agreement on funding for a specific transportation project. During Fiscal Year ODOT is offering $3.5 million in competitive grant funding to support TIDs and 20 Ohio TIDs are registered as doing so with ODOT. [ 130 ] TIDs fund improvements to streets, highways, parking facilities, freight rail tracks and necessarily related freight rail facilities, or other transportation projects that are newly constructed or improved as well as the administrative, storage, and other buildings or properties, and facilities the district needed for the operation of the TID.[ 131 ] Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

82 State of Ohio Ohio Capital Bill State funds for community projects that are for economic development, arts, cultural, sports or historical in nature. Community Project fund should include as much as $100M. Must be of capital in nature and have some nexus or connection to state government or one of its agencies. Need to be of high quality supported by a well-thought out business plan. State capital bill community projects tied to economic development are driven locally to start and arts projects are driven by a statewide process. The Statehouse makes the final decision for state capital bill community projects so an effective lobbying effort is vital. State of Ohio Ohio PWC Per capita transportation funding from gas tax proceeds competitively awarded through regional boards. Provides grant and loan programs for local communities for infrastructure improvements.[ 132 ] State of Ohio ODOT TRAC process ranks potential economic development projects for highway projects over $12M. Freeway interchange, lane additions, rail improvements, intermodal facilities, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and major transit projects are good targets for TRAC funding. SIB awards funding for highway, transit, aviation and rail projects. The SIB provides loans, loan guarantees, letters of credit, leases, interest rate subsidies, and debt service reserves to public and private entities for qualified transportation projects.[ 133 ] State of Ohio Ohio DSA Alternate Storm Water Infrastructure Loans Program (ASWILP) that offers below-market interest rate loans for projects that promote economic development in an environmentally friendly manner. State of Ohio JobsOhio JobsOhio Economic Development Grant was created to promote economic development, business expansion, and job creation by providing funding for eligible projects in the State of Ohio. Grant decisions are based on many project factors, including but not limited to job creation, additional payroll, fixed-asset investment commitment, project return on investment, and project location. State of Ohio OWDA OWDA s Sewer and Water Pollution Control Project Loan provides financing to plan, design, and construct drinking water, wastewater, or storm water infrastructure.[ 134 ] Federal Government Federal Government Federal Government/ PPP Federal Government/ PPP US Commerce Department Economic Development Administration US Department of Transportation EB 5 New Market Tax Credit Program EDA provides a range of public infrastructure grants primarily by empowering distressed communities to revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify local economies, and generate or retain long-term, private sector jobs and investment. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER Discretionary Grant program, provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives. Since 2009, Congress dedicated nearly $4.6 billion for seven rounds of TIGER to fund projects that have a significant impact on the Nation, a region or a metropolitan area. Entrepreneurs (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) if they: make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers and transportation projects have qualified for EB-5 investments as construction jobs qualify as job creation. Designed to increase the flow of capital to businesses and low income communities by providing a modest tax incentive to private investors. Over the last ten years, the New Market Tax Credit has proven to be an effective, targeted and cost-efficient financing tool valued by businesses, communities and investors across the country. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

83 The time is right for Licking County to gain infrastructure funding from these state and federal sources. The election of Donald Trump will likely spur the passage of a massive infrastructure program through either or both a P3/private equity model as proposed by Donald Trump or the development of a national infrastructure bank to be funded with additional gas tax revenues. The election of Donald Trump also creates substantially opportunities for states like Ohio that played a pivotal part in his election and he cited as needing financial support to redevelop. EB-5 Financing has recently been used to fund a major interstate highway project in Pennsylvania opening this source of global capital for use with revenue or non-revenue producing road projects. The state of Ohio is planning soon the introduction and passage of the Ohio Department of Transportation budget which creates substantial funding opportunities for Licking County through the legislative process. The state of Ohio is also planning soon the introduction and passage of the bi-annual state operating budget which will include policy and budget decisions on infrastructure programs at the Ohio Development Services Agency, Ohio Water Development Authority, and Ohio Public Works Commission. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

84 endnotes Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. See 9. file:///c:/users/drobinson/dropbox/licking%20county%20ohio%20profile.pdf file:///c:/users/drobinson/dropbox/licking%20county%20ohio%20profile.pdf 12. Ibid. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid Ibid. 19. Ibid. 20. Ohio Development Services Agency, Licking County Profile, Ibid. 23. Ibid Research on Investment, Licking County, OH Industry and Benchmarking Snapshot Ibid. 28. Ibid. 29. Ibid. 30. Ibid. 31. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Energy Natural Gas Fact Sheet, retrieved from cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/natural-gas.html Ibid. 35. Ibid. 36. Robert P. Giloth, Learning From the Field: Economic Growth and Workforce Development in the 1990 s, Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

85 Economic Development Quarterly, 14, 4 (November 2000) , Skills Gap Report, (Washington, D.C., Manufacturing Institute, 2011). 39. Tim Mullaney, Want a job? Look to the energy field, USA Today, September 30, State of the IT Skills Gap (Downers Grove, IL, CompTIA, February 2012). 41. Peter I. Buerhaus, David I. Auerbach, Douglas O. Staiger & Ulrike Muench, Projections of the, Long-Term Growth of the Registered Nurse Workforce: A Regional Analysis, Nursing Economics, January-February Vol. 31/No. 1 (2013) and Physcian Shortage Estimate Report, (Washington, D.C. Association of American Medical Colleges, 2012) retrieved from institution_campus_07-16.pdf Ibid. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid. 50. Ibid. 51. Ibid. 52. Ibid. 53. Ibid. 54. Ibid Ibid. 57. Ibid Ibid. 62. Ibid. 63. Ibid Ibid. 67. Ibid. 68. Ibid. 69. John Glenn Columbus Non-stop Destinations. Columbus Regional Airport Authority Retrieved January 21, Rose, Mary. John Glenn reported second-busiest year in Columbus Dispatch, January 24, dispatch.com/news/ /john-glenn-airport-recorded-second-busiest-year-in-16 Accessed March 19, Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

86 71. Andrew Haughwout, The Role of Infrastructure in Economic Development, Institute for Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois Forum (Chicago Illinois, September 27, 1994). 72. Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid. 80. Ibid. 81. Ibid. 82. Ibid. 83. Susan Helper, Timothy Krueger, and Howard Wiall, Why Does Manufacturing Matter? Which Manufacturing Matters? A Policy Framework, (Washington, D.C., Brookings Institute, February 2012). 84. See Greater New Orleans, Inc, retrieved from Ibid. 87. Ibid Ibid. 90. Ibid. 91. Ibid. 92. Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisors, U.S. Inbound Foreign Direct Investment Report, June, Ibid. 94. Ibid. 95. Ibid. 96. David Payne and Fenwick Yu, Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, Executive Summary, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, June Ibid. 98. See Changkyu Choi, Does the Internet stimulate inward foreign direct investment?, Journal of Policy Modeling 25 (2003) See Edward B. Roberts and Charles Eesley, Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT (Cambridge, MA, MIT Sloan School of Management, Kaufman Foundation, 2009) Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

87 106. Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid See See Food-Approach.pdf 125. Montrose Group Historic Preservation White Paper, Montrose-Historic-Preservation-White-Paper.pdf Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid R.C (A)(7) Transportation Improvement Districts, ODOT, TIBID.aspx; Transportation Improvement District Annual ODOT Grant Program, ODOT, oh.us/divisions/jobsandcommerce/tid%20resources/sfy16%20program%20summary%20and%20application%20 Directions.pdf R.C (A),(B) 133. Capital Improvements Report, Ohio Public Works Commission (May 2004) Documents/CIRManual.pdf R.C (B) Summary List, Ohio Water Development Authority, Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

88 appendix Appendix A: Definition of Economic Indicators Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of the goods and services produced by the nation s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production and is equal to the sum of personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, net exports of goods and services, and government consumption expenditures and gross investment. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors and dentists services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living collected each month in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments including all taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index. Industry Cluster is a regional concentration of related industries in a particular location consisting of companies, suppliers, and service providers, as well as government agencies and other institutions that provide specialized training and education, information, research, and technical support enhance productivity and spur innovation by bringing together technology, information, specialized talent, competing companies, academic institution, and other organizations with close proximity, and the accompanying tight linkages, yield better market insights, more refined researches agendas, larger pools of specialized talent, and faster deployment of new knowledge. Nonfarm business sector is a subset of the domestic economy and excludes the economic activities of the following: general government, private households, nonprofit organizations serving individuals, and farms that accounts for about 77 percent of the value of the GDP in Personal Income is the income that persons receive in return for their provision of labor, land, and capital used in current production, plus current transfer receipts less contributions for government social insurance (domestic), personal income arising from current production consists of compensation of employees, proprietors income with inventory valuation adjustment and capital consumption adjustment (CCAdj), rental income of persons with CCAdj, and personal income receipts on assets (personal interest income and personal dividend income). Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

89 Unemployment Rate is measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is a measure of those Americans who are employed with jobs and those that are unemployed based upon those that have applied for federal government unemployment insurance and based upon a monthly survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country. Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

90 Appendix B: ROI Industry Cluster analysis Licking County, OH INDUSTRY & BENCHMARKING SNAPSHOT December 23, 2016 ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 1 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

91 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this regional analysis snapshot is to propose the most suitable target industries for our lead generation process. Industry clusters are different from region to region, with certain niche industries or products dominating. To see what specific industries beyond the known cluster strength could be a valuable addition to the region, we filter out growth industries based on national employment, establishment and wage trends that are complementary, either by adding to the core industries, the supply chain or expanding the economic base with related and emerging industries. Although growth companies can always be found, even in stagnant industries, targeting specific sectors with an overall strong track record and outlook increases the chance of finding valuable prospect that will lead to a long-term investment in the region. At the same time, these industries must access to the right workforce at the right price. Identifying current and future workforce bottlenecks are crucial for industry attraction, retention, and cluster growth. The second part of the analysis is looking for an overall strong and increasing presence of workers, and job posting trends that indicate that there are no unusual difficulties in finding new workers for key occupations. To ensure that Licking County positions itself in the most effective way and to maximize the success rates of our leads, we are furthermore benchmarking the region s and state s assets against several key peer regions to confirm or extend the regions unique value proposition for its target sectors. Understanding where your region stands in terms of industry performance and key attractiveness factors relative to key peer regions is a crucial tool for business attraction and retention. We are hence looking for two types of regions in this snapshot: in the industry overview and recruitment zones we are looking at areas where target industries would most easily be recruited from, whereas the benchmarking analysis allows us to look for regions that the county is most likely competing with and has to set itself apart from. The last part of the snapshot highlights the best recruitment zones in the US for the identified target sectors. The heatmaps identify regions with high job growth and competitiveness in specific industries. These could be cluster regions or just a county with a few companies that have shown exceptional growth. The analysis concludes with a recommended prioritized industry target list. ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 2 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

92 Licking County Key Clusters With a population of 171,496 Licking County, Ohio, has been home to over 3,200 businesses and employed over 57,000 workers in 2016 with a job growth of 6% since Among its variety of industries, several groups of interconnected businesses stand out as key traded clusters. It does not imply that some of these industries could not be grouped into other type of clusters, e.g. advanced material industries could be part of a biotech cluster as well as an automotive cluster. Further analysis could highlight trends and potential in specific sub-clusters such as fabricated metals within Advanced Materials. However, in its current configuration the below traded clusters dominate in terms of being key employers (see Appendix 2 for definitions): Distribution (Wholesale, ecommerce) & Warehousing Advanced Materials Construction Products & Services Business Services Source: Emsi Of the four most prominent industry clusters in Licking county, regional job, and establishment growth between has surpassed national performance in Distribution/Warehousing and in Advanced Materials. It fell behind national trends in Construction Products & Services and Business Services. The high performance in Distribution & Warehousing is particularly driven by General Warehousing and Storage; Tobacco and Tobacco Product Merchant Wholesalers; Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers; as well as Electrical Apparatus and Equipment/Wiring Supplies, and Related Equipment Merchant Wholesalers. Advanced Materials performance is dominated by several Plastics Manufacturing industries, as well as Testing Laboratories and R&D activities. Though with a large employment base, the ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 3 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

93 Construction Products/Services Cluster has experienced only small job growth and a net loss of businesses (two), primarily due to a decline in Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction businesses and job cuts at Owens Corning (Mineral Wool Manufacturing). Job losses in the Business Services sector were driven by a decline in regional corporate/management offices and human resource management companies. Opportunities in Growth Industries The table below highlights potential target industries for Licking County relevant for its clusters. Some already have a presence or are growing in the region, others have tremendous growth opportunities directly adding to clusters or supply chains and with potentially large spillover effects for the rest of the local economy (high job multiplier). In addition, some targets have a stronger supply chain network such as general the Distribution and Business Services industries, while e.g. Plastic Material and Resin and Organic Chemical Manufacturing would have to find more than 80% of their key purchases outside the metro area. NAICS Description Jobs Advanced Materials Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing Construction Products & Services Job Growth Stable. Growth US Establ LC Establ. Growth Local Jobs Multiplier 37% 46% 46% establ % 13.4% 6.4% 399 n/a n/a Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing 18% 27% 12% 914 0% Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing 18% 20% 11% 955 n/a n/a Advanced Materials & Construction Supply Chain Plastics Material and Resin Manufacturing 7.1% 1.2% 8.3% 1, establ All Other Basic Organic Chemical 14.3% 7.6% 9.2% 750 0% 2.5 Manufacturing Nonwoven Fabric Mills 2 10% 43% 13% 234 n/a n/a Distribution & Warehousing Electronic Shopping 91% 58% 55% 19,263 0% Other Construction Material Merchant 18% 13% 3% 2,857 0% 1.5 Wholesalers Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 13% 17% 7% 9,850 0% Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services 19.6% 26.0% 15.5% 14,147-40% 1.1 Business Services Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 21.7% 10.6% 23.5% 18,230 25% IT Consulting Services 28-31% 14-31% 24-31% >20,000-7% to 6% 1.2 Source: Emsi 1 E.g. enzyme proteins (i.e., basic synthetic chemicals) (except pharmaceutical use), fatty acids (e.g., margaric, oleic, stearic), organo-inorganic compound manufacturing plasticizers (i.e., basic synthetic chemical), silicone (except resins), synthetic sweeteners (i.e., sweetening agents) 2 Processes used include bonding and/or interlocking fibers by mechanical, chemical, thermal, or solvent means, or by combinations thereof, e.g. roofing components, automotive carpets, HEPA filters ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 4 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

94 The region previously highlighted a cluster activity in the manufacturing and packaging of personal care, health, and beauty products. The downstream chemical element of these industries in e.g. toiletries as well as some of the plastic packaging industries are considered part of the advanced materials cluster. The Automotive Cluster overall did not meet the overall job count to be included as a key cluster but it contains a strong local high growth industry in Motor Vehicle Steering and Suspension Components and several related and supply chain industries overlap with the Advanced Materials Cluster. If there is an interest in advancing this sector, the focus should be on advanced material companies specialized on automotive end-users such as smart coatings and nonwoven fabrics. Several plastics and distribution industries also feed into the supply chain of Food & Beverage clusters. There is some local presence in dairy manufacturing in Licking County though the outlook in that subsector are moderate with the only real growth opportunity in dairy alternatives such as soy and almond milk. Related industries in that cluster that are high growth targets are Snack Food and Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing. Local stakeholders also expressed interest on Oil and Gas industry related manufacturing industries. Two industries from the above table feed into this industry cluster, Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing and Metal Tank Manufacturing. A related industry with good prospects relevant for that cluster are measuring/metering instruments [Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables]. Workforce Suitability Analyzing the demand and supply of key occupations for Licking County, assumes that the region has potential access to the wider metro area workforce pool. Looking at the workforce availability for the main regional clusters, key occupations for the Advanced Material Cluster in the Columbus metro area indicate a below average workforce availability [a lower concentration of jobs in the region than what is typical]. However, these occupations experienced overall job growth of 12.2% from , indicating that the regional talent pool has been increasing substantially. Across all the underlying industries, the highest demand for occupations facing potential challenges are Team Assemblers as well as management/supervisory positions and sales representatives that are also key occupations for the Distribution & Warehousing Cluster. These occupations have also been highlighted by Ohio agencies as high demand occupations for Ohio. Several other occupations are still underrepresented such as Maintenance and Repair, but have at least shown significant growth over the past five years indicating a ready supply of new workers if the growth rate is maintained. ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 5 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

95 Source: Emsi Similarly, for the Construction Products & Services Cluster, below average workforce availability coupled with strong job growth over the past five years is an encouraging trend but requires a more detail look at the needs of individual industries. Source: Emsi Focusing particularly on the selected target growth industries, the following are the most indemand occupations based on a staffing pattern of a typical company across the nation. All top occupations can be classified as production occupations and most overlap between several target industries. The 2015 unemployment rate in the Columbus metro area for these occupations at 5% was below the national average of 7% indicating a tighter labor market. The job posting intensity for 2016 in the table below highlights in how many ways a job was advertised, providing some insight into the expected difficulty in filling the position. A high job posting intensity in an occupation that is already underrepresented in the region (job concentration <1), might create a workforce challenge especially for the Metal Tank Manufacturing and also the Plastics Packaging target industries. Based on discussions at the launch call, despite a current high job concentration of packers, the region is facing a more ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 6 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

96 recent shortage due to the arrival of a new Amazon warehousing facility that could impact the growth of industries with a high demand for this occupation. Key In-Demand Occupations Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Target Industry Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing, Nonwoven Fabric Mills Metro Job Growth Metro Job Posting Intensity 2016 Job Concentration (1=National Average) 7.3% 6: Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing 8.1% 7: Packers and Packagers, Hand Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (incl. Laminated) Manufacturing 6.1% 5: Industrial Machinery Mechanics Petroleum Lubricating Oil and Grease Manufacturing 15.1% 5: Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing 0.9% 5: Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing 5.5% 6: Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing, Team Assemblers Fabricated Pipe and Pipe Fitting Manufacturing, Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (incl. 2.4% 5: Laminated) Manufacturing Source: Emsi The Business Services Cluster in the Columbus region in contrast boasts an above average workforce availability for key occupations, though again with some underrepresentation and slow growth in the sales and management occupations. Regional Benchmarking Review To understand how Licking County can set itself apart from key competitors in business attraction, the benchmarking analysis evaluates Licking County s competitiveness to comparable regions across the US, even beyond the Midwest/Northeast. We are not just looking for those outperforming Licking County, but regions similar in geography and performance in key clusters that may outperform the region in some factors and fall behind in others. Either case gives the opportunity to learn about Licking County s strengths and weaknesses. Over the past five years, the State of Ohio has received over 800 FDI projects, 3.3% out of the US total, with 60% of projects reflecting new facilities (vs expansions or co-location). A third of the projects occurred in the business/financial/software sector, followed by industrial machinery, automotive components, and transportation/warehousing. The Columbus (OH) MSA received 113 of these projects since January 2012, primarily in business and financial services, and Licking County reported 4 new projects and 7 expansions/co-locations, with 3 projects in the distribution/warehousing sector. Though advanced material companies cannot directly be established as an industry category, the sectors more likely to be engaged in these products are clustered with related high-tech industries and services, and identifying such clusters of activity gives first insight into potential advanced materials hotspots. The map below shows which US states have attracted the most ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 7 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

97 greenfield investments since 2012, with the raw material and high-tech rich transportation hubs of Texas dominating, as well as life science/high-tech areas such as California and Massachusetts. Ohio is however also a strong contender, as are the Carolinas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Georgia. FDI into the distribution/warehousing is naturally concentrated in the main transportation and population hubs in the US such as Texas, California. Florida, Chicago. Advanced Material Cluster FDI Source: FDI Market Regions that would be considered direct competitors to Licking County would not just have a similar industry mix but also a comparable geography. There are 70 counties in the US with similar population size and in the vicinity of a metro area close to 1mill. or more residents. Of those 70 we identified those with a strong growth record in the largest Licking County clusters, Advanced Materials, and Distribution & Warehousing, as well as being a strategic location for transportation and distribution and a have a diverse set of industries to qualify as a cluster (i.e. not just one company driving the results). For ease of comparison for this snapshot, the selection was reduced a total of 9 comparators. Other counties with similar geography and presence in those two main clusters but that were not included due to below average cluster job or establishment growth were e.g. Fairfield County, OH (Columbus) and Allen County, IN (Fort Wayne). Other counties mentioned by stakeholders such as in the Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids area were not included as are they are not in the vicinity of same sized metro areas. A more comprehensive benchmarking report could include further marginal regions and investigate emerging competitors. Other factors including local incentives and state policies might come into play when competing with these regions for projects or attracting businesses from these regions that deserve further investigation. The following most relevant peer regions have been identified: ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 8 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

98 County State Population Closest MSA Tolland County CT 152,691 Hartford, CT Clark County IN 110,232 Louisville, KY Johnson County IN 139,654 Indianapolis, IN Boone County KY 118,811 Cincinatti, OH Medina County OH 172,332 Cleveland, OH Butler County PA 183,862 Pittsburgh, PA Sumner County TN 160,645 Nashville, TN Ontario County NY 107,931 Rochester, NY Kenosha County WI 166,426 Milwaukee, WI Where data at the county level was not available or where there was an economic rationale for it, we present metro or state level information. Comparing the performance of Ohio in attracting investment in its key sectors gives some insight into which states might compete not just on geography but attractiveness factors such as business costs, regulations, etc. that are often determined at the state level. The following table summarizes the region s performance across key attractiveness factors. The following pages provide the most recent ranking for each of the indicators for all regions. A next step in a more complete analysis of Licking County s competitive position would focus on how these indicators have developed over the past years. Column1 Licking County Metro Peer Average Top Peer Performer Technology, Innovation & Finance Hightech GDP 5-year Growth Index Nashville, TN High-tech Diversity [# of industries with LQ>1] Rochester, NY Venture Capital $ - $56,962,000 $80,052,856 Pittsburgh, PA Patents Granted Tolland County, CT High-growth Business Density Nashville, TN General Economic Strength Job Growth % % Sumner County, TN Business Growth % - 6.0% Sumner County, TN Earnings Growth % % Ontario County, NY Population Growth % - 3.5% Sumner County, TN Unemployment Rate 6.80% 6.00% Medina County, OH Human Capital Laborforce Participation Rate (20-64y) 80% 80% Medina County, OH High School Attainment 35% 29% - Some College/Associate Degree Attainment (20-64y) 32% 33% Clark County, IN Bachelor Degree and above Attainment (20-64y) 24% 32% Tolland County, CT STEM workers share % 3.70% Butler County, PA STEM graduates per 100 STEM workers 9 11 Rochester, NY Average Earnings $48,167 $49,050 Ontario County, NY Ease of Hiring B- C Cleveland, OH Business Costs Business Cost Ranking Indianapolis, IN Business Tax Burden 4.1% (state) 4.80% Connecticut Office & Industrial Asking Rents ($/SF/Yr) $9.6 $11.2 Milwaukee, WI Electricity Costs Ranking Indianapolis, IN Commercial Natural Gas Prices 6.39 (state) 7.72 Ohio Regulatory Climate Regulatory Climate 21 (state) 10 Indiana Regulations Grade B C Nashville, TN Labor Market Regulations Grade B C+ Nashville, TN Zoning Grade B- C+ Nashville, TN Infrastructure & Quality of Life Infrastructure Ranking 7 (state) 19 Indiana Commuting time Ontario County, NY Cost of Living Boone County, KY ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 9 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

99 Bottom Line: The Columbus region has some advantages in terms of high-tech industry strength, business costs and regulations relative to its peers and Licking County in particular can highlight its high share of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) workers and lost Cost of Living. Compared to its instate competitor Medina County/Cleveland, it presents similar economic performance with lower patent and venture capital activity important for attracting more R&D intensive/higher value-added advanced material companies. At the same time its metro area can offer lower business costs and higher overall business dynamism (higher density of high-growth businesses). In addition, Columbus was ranked top city for global trade by the Global Trade Magazine in 2016 while none of the other metro areas were mentioned, and the Business Facilities survey of 2016 ranked the metro area as a Top 10 Innovation Hub, with Rochester at #1. How these findings have developed over time and how far the region s performance is from its closest peer states deserves further analysis. Across all categories, the most common top performer were the Indianapolis and Nashville areas. ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 10 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

100 Technology, Innovation & Finance #6 High-tech GDP 5-year Growth Index #6 High-Tech Diversity #6 Venture Capital $ 1 Nashville, TN Nashville, TN 6 1 Pittsburgh, PA $199,259,700 2 Louisville, KY Rochester, NY 8 2 Nashville, TN $135,891,900 3 Cincinnati, OH Indianapolis, IN 7 3 Cleveland, OH $109,156,700 4 Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh, PA 5 4 Cincinnati, OH $96,600,200 5 Rochester, NY Hartford, CT 4 5 Hartford, CT $80,266,100 6 Columbus, OH Columbus, OH 4 6 Columbus, OH $56,962,000 7 Cleveland, OH Milwaukee, WI 4 7 Indianapolis, IN $54,557,100 8 Milwaukee, WI Louisville, KY 3 8 Rochester, NY $20,402,000 9 Hartford, CT Cleveland, OH 3 9 Louisville, KY $16,067, Indianapolis, IN Cincinnati, OH 3 10 Milwaukee, WI $8,275,000 High-Growth Business Density 1 Tolland County, CT Nashville, TN Medina county, OH Columbus, OH Ontario County, NY Cincinnati, OH Butler county, PA Indianapolis, IN Kenosha county, WI Cleveland, OH 93 6 Johnson county, IN Pittsburgh, PA 63 7 Boone county, KY Milwaukee, WI 48 8 Licking County, OH Hartford, CT - 9 Sumner County, TN 88 - Rochester, NY - 10 Clark County, IN 55 - Louisville, KY - #8 Patents Granted #2 ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 11

101 General Economic Strength #8 Job Growth #9 Business Growth #5 Earnings Growth Sumner County, TN 23.1% 1 Sumner County, TN 18.2% 1 Ontario County, NY 28.2% 2 Kenosha County, WI 18.9% 2 Boone County, KY 16.5% 2 Sumner County, TN 14.5% 3 Clark County, IN 18.2% 3 Ontario County, NY 5.0% 3 Johnson County, IN 11.5% 4 Johnson County, IN 17.2% 4 Tolland County, CT 4.5% 4 Butler County, PA 11.0% 5 Boone County, KY 15.6% 5 Kenosha County, WI 3.5% 5 Licking County, OH 9.3% 6 Medina County, OH 5.7% 6 Johnson County, IN 3.5% 6 Medina County, OH 8.4% 7 Ontario County, NY 5.6% 7 Butler County, PA 2.5% 7 Tolland County, CT 7.5% 8 Licking County, OH 4.1% 8 Medina County, OH 2.3% 8 Kenosha County, WI 7.2% 9 Butler County, PA 3.3% 9 Licking County, OH 2.0% 9 Clark County, IN 5.6% 10 Tolland County, CT 1.4% 10 Clark County, IN -1.6% 10 Boone County, KY 4.4% Population Growth #9 Unemployment Rate 1 Sumner County, TN 9.0% 1 Medina County, OH 4.6% 2 Johnson County, IN 6.8% 2 Boone County, KY 5.1% 3 Boone County, KY 6.5% 3 Butler County, PA 5.3% 4 Clark County, IN 4.3% 4 Sumner County, TN 5.6% 5 Licking County, OH 2.5% 5 Ontario County, NY 5.7% 6 Medina County, OH 2.3% 6 Johnson County, IN 5.8% 7 Butler County, PA 1.5% 7 Tolland County, CT 6.1% 8 Kenosha County, WI 1.3% 8 Clark County, IN 6.7% 9 Ontario County, NY 1.2% 9 Licking County, OH 6.8% 10 Tolland County, CT -1.1% 10 Kenosha County, WI 9.0% #5 ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 12

102 Human Capital Laborforce Participation Rate #5 (20-64y) #7 Median Working Age #1 High School Attainment 1 Medina County, OH 82% 1 Tolland County, CT Licking County, OH 35% 2 Johnson County, IN 81% 2 Clark County, IN Clark County, IN 32% 3 Boone County, KY 81% 3 Kenosha County, WI Johnson County, IN 31% 4 Tolland County, CT 81% 4 Boone County, KY Sumner County, TN 31% 5 Licking County, OH 80% 5 Johnson County, IN Butler County, PA 31% 6 Butler County, PA 80% 6 Sumner County, TN Kenosha County, WI 31% 7 Kenosha County, WI 80% 7 Licking County, OH Medina County, OH 30% 8 Sumner County, TN 79% 8 Butler County, PA Boone County, KY 26% 9 Ontario County, NY 79% 9 Ontario County, NY Ontario County, NY 26% 10 Clark County, IN 78% 10 Medina County, OH Tolland County, CT 25% Some College/Associate Bachelor Degree and above STEM Workers as % of Degree Attainment (20-64y) #9 Attainment (20-64y) #3 total jobs 1 Clark County, IN 36% 1 Tolland County, CT 40% 1 Butler County, PA 5.4% 2 Kenosha County, WI 35% 2 Butler County, PA 37% 2 Ontario County, NY 4.6% 3 Boone County, KY 35% 3 Medina County, OH 34% 3 Licking County, OH 4.3% 4 Ontario County, NY 35% 4 Ontario County, NY 34% 4 Tolland County, CT 4.2% 5 Sumner County, TN 34% 5 Boone County, KY 33% 5 Boone County, KY 3.7% 6 Licking County, OH 32% 6 Johnson County, IN 31% 6 Medina County, OH 3.7% 7 Johnson County, IN 32% 7 Sumner County, TN 26% 7 Kenosha County, WI 3.4% 8 Medina County, OH 32% 8 Kenosha County, WI 26% 8 Sumner County, TN 3.4% 9 Tolland County, CT 29% 9 Licking County, OH 24% 9 Clark County, IN 2.7% 10 Butler County, PA 28% 10 Clark County, IN 21% 10 Johnson County, IN 2.7% #6 ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 13

103 STEM Graduates per 100 STEM #7 workers #8 Average Earnings #3 Ease of Hiring 1 Rochester, NY Ontario County, NY $62,727 1 Cleveland, OH B+ 2 Pittsburgh, PA Butler County, PA $59,577 2 Nashville, TN B 3 Indianapolis, IN Tolland County, CT $59,571 2 Indianapolis, IN B 4 Hartford, CT Boone County, KY $53,891 2 Milwaukee, WI B 5 Nashville, TN Kenosha County, WI $50,194 3 Columbus, OH B- 6 Louisville, KY Medina County, OH $49,233 3 Cincinnati, OH B- 7 Columbus, OH Sumner County, TN $49,222 4 Pittsburgh, PA C- 8 Cincinnati, OH Licking County, OH $48,167 5 Rochester, NY D+ 9 Cleveland, OH Clark County, IN $46,047 6 Louisville, KY D 10 Milwaukee, WI Johnson County, IN $43,761 7 Hartford, CT F ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 14

104 Business Costs Business Cost Ranking #4 Business Tax Burden Office & Industrial #3 Asking Rents ($/SF/Yr) 1 Louisville, KY 48 1 Connecticut 3.4% 1 Milwaukee, WI $9.2 2 Indianapolis, IN 61 2 Indiana 3.7% 2 Rochester, NY $9.4 3 Rochester, NY 80 3 Tennessee 4.2% 3 Columbus, OH $9.6 4 Nashville, TN Ohio 4.3% 4 Cincinnati, OH $9.6 5 Columbus, OH Pennsylvania 4.5% 5 Cleveland, OH $9.9 6 Pittsburgh, PA Kentucky 4.7% 6 Louisville, KY $ Cleveland, OH New York 5.7% 7 Indianapolis, IN $ Cincinnati, OH Wisconsin 7.3% 8 Hartford, CT $ Milwaukee, WI Pittsburgh, PA $ Hartford, CT Nashville, TN $13.9 #5 #4 Electricity Costs Commercial Natural Ranking #1 Gas Prices 1 Indianapolis, IN 38 1 Ohio $ Cincinnati, OH 45 2 Connecticut $ Louisville, KY 48 3 Kentucky $ Columbus, OH 55 4 Pennsylvania $ Pittsburgh, PA 59 5 Tennessee $ Cleveland, OH 63 6 New York $ Nashville, TN 64 7 Wisconsin $ Milwaukee, WI 71 8 Indiana $ Hartford, CT - - Rochester, NY - ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 15

105 Regulatory Climate #3 Regulatory Climate #2 Regulations Grade 1 Indiana 4 1 Nashville, TN A 2 Tennessee 8 2 Columbus, OH B 3 Ohio 10 3 Cincinnati, OH B 4 New York 23 4 Cleveland, OH B- 5 Wisconsin 23 5 Indianapolis, IN C+ 6 Kentucky 35 6 Pittsburgh, PA C+ 7 Pennsylvania 39 7 Milwaukee, WI C 8 Connecticut 46 8 Rochester, NY D+ 9 Louisville, KY D+ 10 Hartford, CT D Labor Market Regulations Grade #4 Zoning Grade 1 Nashville, TN A+ 1 Nashville, TN A 2 Columbus, OH B 2 Cleveland, OH B+ 3 Cleveland, OH B 3 Cincinnati, OH B 4 Pittsburgh, PA B- 4 Columbus, OH B- 5 Louisville, KY B- 5 Louisville, KY B- 6 Indianapolis, IN C+ 6 Indianapolis, IN C+ 7 Cincinnati, OH C+ 7 Pittsburgh, PA C+ 8 Milwaukee, WI C+ 8 Milwaukee, WI C+ 9 Rochester, NY D 9 Rochester, NY C 10 Hartford, CT F 10 Hartford, CT F #2 ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 16

106 Infrastructure & Quality of Life #3 Infrastructure Ranking #4 Commuting Time 1 Indiana 1 1 Ontario County, NY Tennessee 2 2 Boone County, KY Ohio 7 3 Clark County, IN Kentucky 14 4 Licking County, OH Wisconsin 19 5 Tolland County, CT Pennsylvania 35 6 Kenosha County, WI New York 43 7 Johnson County, IN Connecticut 47 8 Butler County, PA Medina County, OH Sumner County, TN 27.7 #4 Cost of Living 1 Boone County, KY Sumner County, TN Clark County, IN Licking County, OH Johnson County, IN Medina County, OH Kenosha County, WI Butler County, PA Ontario County, NY Tolland County, CT ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 17

107 Recruitment Zones The following maps focus on regions in the US that have experienced strong growth in the target industries beyond what would be expected for the industry or the region, these could be major hubs but are often also smaller growth hotspots of industries hosting potentially expanding companies. Advanced Materials & Construction Products Hotspots As Advanced Materials are a diverse set of industries that are often driven by agglomeration of end-user industries such as automotive or computer manufacturing, it is more insightful to look for growth regions in our target niche industries. High-growth areas from the target industry table with a strong specialization are particularly Louisiana, North and South Carolina and Wisconsin. Distribution & Warehousing Growth areas in the target industries of distribution and wholesale are more widely dispersed throughout the US. Some hotspots are in expected transportation and distribution hubs such as Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Chicago, but there are also strong concentrations in Phoenix and Indianapolis. ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 18 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February

108 Business services hotspots outside typical IT cluster areas can addition be found in the Kansas City area, Ames (IA), Austin (TX) or Provo-Orem (UT). ROI RESEARCH ON INVESTMENT 19 Grow Licking County Economic Development Action Plan, February