Providence Fails to Track Economic Development Opportunities
Friday, February 06, 2015
The City of Providence does not maintain records of businesses who contact the city interested in starting or bringing a business to the city, according to a public records request made by GoLocalProv.
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When asked for the number of businesses that contacted the city's economic development office about starting or bringing a news business to the city for calendar years 2012, 2013, and 2014, the city responded that it had "no responsive records" for the request.
"So I want to come to the city, and bring 100 jobs, and call the city, and wow. There's no record of that?" asked City Council President Luis Aponte, who has been on the council since 1998.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"I think it's a completely missed opportunity because that data and information leads to being informed as to who it is that's out there that wants to be in Providence," said Aponte "It can help inform where you reach out, the type of outreach you do -- I'm surprised and saddened to learn of this."
Need for Information?
"It is important for the City of Providence to have an information system in economic development. The system would be of benefit to city officials making policy and planning decisions," said URI Distinguished Professor of Business Edward Mazze. "Minimally, the system should include a log of all inquiries, e.g. the name of the individual, the organization and the subject matter of the inquiry. This log would also help economic development personnel follow-up on potential business opportunities."
"Without such a system, there would be no organized way of attracting and retaining businesses in Providence. And, most importantly, there would be no way of measuring the activities of this office against any standards or objectives," said Mazze.
Aponte noted that the City Council just awarded a contract that was put out to bid last year for "cluster analysis"
"We just awarded it to Fourth Economy, who has done work with the state before," said Aponte. "Part of what we hope to unearth, is not just the individual actors, but the clusters of the groups out there -- what are the anchors that draw them there, and how can we explore opportunities in those sectors."
"Part of this is to help us with an informed incentive policy we want to create," said Aponte, noting that the analysis would be used in part to address tax policy.
The city's process for awarding of tax stabilization agreements -- and specifically TSAs for 195 land -- have come under close scrutiny in the past year.
Aponte noted that one item that Fourth Economy told them in their pre-analysis that stood out.
"Some 21% of Providence residents are 1099s," said Aponte of the classification of contract employees. "They said that's higher than all other cities of our size, and a higher percentage of almost all cities in the country. So what we've found is a lot of folks here who are working aren't working traditional jobs, and getting a traditional paycheck."
Data Collection
Commerce RI, when asked the same question about businesses inquiring with the office, said they couldn't provide data for 2012 and 2013, but could for last year.
"We just implemented the use of Salesforce in 2014," said Melissa Czerwien with Commerce RI, of utilizing the data.
Other cities in New England said that while they did some data collection, they did not necessarily collect all data points.
"It's a case by case basis for us," said Stephen Cole, Senior Project Manager for Hartford, Connecticut's Economic Development Group. "I have an issue of treating it like a real estate transaction; it's so much more than that."
"If we get calls that develop into something, we continued to track that then," said Cole. "People do want to be part of the Hartford brand -- we track how many jobs have been created from the projects we've touched, how much financing we've put into the community. My personal favorite is how many square feet of new commercial space is occupied. We focus on the new growth."
Boston's Economic Chief John Barros spoke to the latest efforts to attract new business in the city.
"When companies or entrepreneurs reach out to us, it is critical to respond to every inquiry and so we designate a member of our staff to handle their needs. To better meet the needs of the businesses that most frequently seek our guidance and support, the Mayor announced in his State of the City address last month a new StartUp Manager to work directly with the startup community in Boston." said Barros. "In addition to serving as the facilitator between the community and City Hall, this Manager will be responsible for managing Start Hub, a new regional program that will unify and bolster the startup community in the Boston area through networking events, marketing campaigns, and helping to remove bureaucratic barriers to growth."
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza's administration said that it is committed to furthering the office.
"The administration's search for a new director to lead the Office of Economic Development is currently underway, and we look forward to building a department that takes a strategic and focused approach to creating jobs and growing our economy," said Elorza spokesperson Evan England.
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