The Dow is up. Wall Street bankers are awarding themselves record bonuses. To hear some tell it, stimulus funds are being spread like peanut butter across the nation.
Still, too many people — educated, experienced, talented adults — cannot find work. Architects, engineers, journalists, lawyers and managers, people who have always been able to adapt when a recession forces downsizing or layoffs, continue to search for employment.
According to Andre Pettigrew, head of the city’s department of economic development, the unemployment rate in Denver is 8 percent, a dramatic increase over the 4.7 percent unemployment rate at the end of 2007. Pettigrew insists the city has added 12,000 jobs since Mayor John Hickenlooper took office. It’s not clear what role his office played in creating those jobs.
Asked about Denver’s plan and priorities for job creation and retention, Pettigrew explained the department’s commitment to call on 500 local businesses to determine their needs, and then to determine whether Denver has available resources. So far, it seems lack of access to capital is the biggest obstacle facing Denver businesses.
Pettigrew acknowledges the city has few tools to address the crisis and limited tools to attract and retain business. He points out that aside from the department’s role in administering community development block grants, the revolving loan fund those dollars support and federal job training funds, his role is to work with regional economic development efforts to attract and retain jobs.
What is the city doing to retain 300-plus Frontier Airlines jobs and consolidate some 200 call center jobs in New Mexico and 300 Midwest Airlines heavy maintenance jobs? Though job retention and expansion are top goals for the department, the city has few tools to compete.
Unfortunately, the state’s Job Growth Incentive Program, crediting up to one-half of the FICA tax for 20 or more new employees earning 10 percent above median income, doesn’t apply to the Frontier jobs. Those fall below the median.
Truth is, cash incentives don’t buy jobs. Pettigrew points out that Denver’s new development services division plays a very important role in attracting and retaining businesses. Of course, it helps when developers and new businesses can access capital to finance development.
Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, recently pointed out that Denver is the “weak sister” in the regional eco-devo players, but wouldn’t elaborate.
Federally funded assistance to small, disadvantaged and neighborhood businesses are best administered at the local level. However, regional efforts are more efficiently directed by regional experts with the mayor, key council members and business leaders coming in for the close.Aside from singing kumbaya with the region, is Denver’s political leadership doing anything dramatic to re-ignite a stalled economy?
Without strategic tools and a laser-like focus, selling blue sky and sunshine may be the “fundamental nonsense of government” candidate Hickenlooper promised to get rid of.
Susan Barnes-Gelt (sbg13@comcast.net) served on the Denver City Council and worked for Mayor Federico Peña.
Editor’s note: Barnes-Gelt is an unpaid volunteer for Andrew Romanoff’s Senate campaign. That fact should have been disclosed in her most recent column on the race. Given her ties to the campaign, she will not be writing about the Senate race.
