One Page Plan

The One Page Poster Plan can be a simple yet effective way to present a plan.   

The KISS formula - Keep It Sweet and Simple - method is used.  The plan includes a large colorful and simple map with photographs, and a list of goals or and projects. The plan can be printed as a large or medium sized poster, as an 8.5  by 11 inch handout, or placed on a blog as shown here.  

Variations of this theme include an 11  by 17 inch brochure. 


Click on the Plan Map to make it larger.

2011 APA Upper Midwest Conference

Time	Wednesday, October 19 at 9:00am - October 21 at 5:00pm
Location	The RiverCenter 136 E. 3rd Street Davenport, IA
Created By	American Planning Association - Illinois Chapter
More Info	http://www.iowa-apa.org/events/conference-information.html

Commercial District Revitalization

Good article in the Urbanophile.

Commercial District Revitalization and Return on Investment by Richard Layman

One of the things that bugs me about local economic development is that elected and appointed officials don’t seem to understand it much. Certain types of government funding add value and spur subsequent independent private investment and other types of funding do not. Ideally, each dollar you spend generates significantly more in private investment.

As Rolf Goetze makes the point in Building Neighborhood Confidence (1976), although referring to neighborhood stabilization, that government programs shouldn’t be fostering dependence but rather spurring people to continue to invest in their neighborhood–”building confidence in remaining in and investing in their neighborhood.”

Click to read the article

Debt By Nation

Our new bragging rights. Debt in America? Not as bad as Europe.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/world-debt-guide&fsrc=nwl

Boom Times in North Dakota

The state's unemployment rate hovers around 3 percent, and "Help Wanted" signs litter the landscape of cities such as Williston in the same way "For Sale" signs populate the streets of Las Vegas.

"It's a zoo," said Terry Ayers, who drove into town from Spokane, Wash., slept in his truck, and found a job within hours of arrival, tripling his salary. "It's crazy what's going on out here."

Click to Read More

Why We Like 40 degree winters in Dakota?  It keeps the riffraff out.

Narrow roads often work better than wide ones

"Designing wider roads means more time for pedestrians to cross, which in turn means more wait times for cars.

Designing more wait times for pedestrians means most cars will go 45 mph on major thoroughfares and stop for 2 minutes instead of going along at 30 mph with less stopping time.

In scenarios with narrower streets engineers can actually increase car capacity because there is less time for pedestrians to cross the street.

Mid-block crossings are safer for pedestrians because there is 
traffic coming from 2 directions instead of 4 at intersections."




Interesting article makes the points above.


Click to Read the Article

We Gotta Get Out of This Place, If it's The Last Thing We Ever Do

GOODBYE  ILLINOIS  ...

Nice place to be from.

Former State Senator and Republican Cook County Board President candidate Roger Keats and his wife Tina are leaving Illinois to live in Texas.  They bid farewell to their Illinois friends in a Wilmette Beacon article and with this letter this weekend, saying they're "voting with their feet and their wallets":

GOOD BYE AND GOOD LUCK

As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye to my friends and wish all of you well. I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of it.  After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart.  BUT enough is enough!  The leaders of Illinois refuse to see we can’t continue going in the direction we are and expect people who have options to stay here.  I remember when Illinois had 25 congressmen.  In 2012 we will have 18.  Compared to the rest of the country we have lost 1/4th of our population.  Dont blame the weather, because I love 4 seasons. 

Illinois just sold still more bonds and our credit rating is so bad we pay higher interest rates than junk bonds! Junk Bonds!  Illinois is ranked 50th for fiscal policy; 47th in job creation; 1st in unfunded pension liabilities; 2nd largest budget deficit; 1st in failing schools; 1st in bonded indebtedness; highest sales tax in the nation; most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat); and 5 of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted.  That is more than the other 49 states added together!  Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1000 state and municipal employees indicted.  The corruption tax is a real cost of doing business.  We are the butt of jokes for stand up comics.

We live in the most corrupt big city, in the most corrupt big county in the most corrupt state inAmerica .  I am sick and tired of subsidizing crooks.  A day rarely passes without an article about the corruption and incompetence.  Chicago even got caught rigging the tests to hire police and firemen!  Our Crook County CORPORATE property tax system is intentionally corrupt.  The Democrat State Chairman who is also the Speaker of the Illinois House (Spkr. Mike Madigan) and the most senior alderman in Chicago each make well over a million dollars a year putting the fix in for their clients tax assessments.

We are moving to Texas where there is no income tax while Illinois just went up 67%.  Texas sales tax is ½ of ours, which is the highest in the nation.  Southern states are supportive of job producers, tax payers and folks who offer opportunities to their residents.  Illinois shakes them down for every penny that can be extorted from them.

In The Hill Country of Texas (near Austin and San Antonio ) we bought a gracious home on almost 2 acres with a swimming pool.  It is new, will cost us around 40% of what our home in Wilmette just sold for and the property taxes are 1/3rd of what they are here.  Crook County's property tax system is a disaster: Wilmette homes near ours sell for 50% more and their property taxes are ½ of ours.  Our assessed home value was 50% higher than the sales price.  The system is unfair and incompetent.

Our home value is down 40%, our property taxes are up 20% and our local schools have still another referendum on the ballot to increase taxes over 20% in one year.  I could go on, but enough is enough.  I feel as if we are standing on the deck of the Titanic and I can see the icebergs right in front of us.  I will miss our friends a great deal.  I have called Illinois home for essentially my entire life.  But it is time to go where there is honest, competent and cost effective government.  We have chosen to vote with our feet and our wallets.  My best to all of you and Good luck!

http://www.wilmettebeacon.com/Articles-c-2011-03-18-218533.114133-Political-couple-leaves-legacy-in-Wilmette.html%5C%22

Thanks to Ken Zalga for Sharing

One Half Way to a Lost Decade

Interesting article in Freakonomics arguing that the recession began sooner then commonly thought. Of course the more interesting and important date is when is it over?


"The NBER reckons the recession began in December 2007. But look closely, and you’ll see that it may have begun a earlier. The point is more easily made with a simple graph:"

Click to read the article:

Fault

The east coast earthquake was caused by a fault line running under Washington DC


Republicans say it's Obama's Fault.


Democrats say it's Bush's Fault.


Others think it Washington's Fault


Or the Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.


Or the sound of the 14 trillion dollar check bouncing.


There is faulty thinking in DC.


S and P Downgraded the Fault to AA and DC to B-


How about a No-Fault Divorce from DC?

Cracks in the Washington Monument

NEXT – Fostering Small Business Growth

The Peoria area has worked hard to create a friendly environment for new and developing businesses. 

In 2009, Peoria was ranked by CNNMoney as the fifth-best midsized city in the United States to launch a small business, and the city continues to rank well on the Milken Institute’s annual “Best-Performing Cities – 
200 Largest Metros” list.


Congratulations to everyone in the region who has worked to make this happen.


Click to Read More:

American Planning Association

Learn about the new PAS Report "Assessing 

Sustainability: A Guide for Local Governments" 

via APA's Sustaining Places blog.

Sustaining Places

Communities expressing a desire to be sustainable 

without taking the time to define how they will 

measure sustainability are flying blind.

ICMA Programs

• $95 Million Available for Sustainability Planning
• Unions and Public Pension Benefits
• CityLinks Partners Tackle Urban Traffic Problems in Kosovo
• Water Infrastructure Successes in Columbia, Missouri

$95 Million Available for Sustainability Planning  HUD is again providing opportunities for local governments and regional entities to develop or update planning efforts with a focus on sustainability.

Unions and Public Pension Benefits  A new issue brief from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence probes the question of what role union power has had in public pension benefit levels.

CityLinks Partners Tackle Urban Traffic Problems in Kosovo  Through a new ICMA CityLinks partnership, the city of Gjilan in Kosovo will work with Golden, Colorado, to make improvements in local traffic management, parking, and bus service.

Water Infrastructure Successes in Columbia, Missouri  EPA website shares case studies that highlight local government successes in establishing sustainable water infrastructure foundations for the future.

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Demonstrate Effectiveness with Performance Measurement It's never been more important for local government professionals to demonstrate to citizens and elected officials the benefits they deliver. ICMA's Center for Performance Measurement™ (CPM) offers two programs that can help you monitor performance, demonstrate results, and make decisions. To find out more, visit icma.org/performance or email cpmmail@icma.org

ExpressPark Los Angeles

Interview with Donald Shoup: Los Angeles Making Strides with ExpressPark

by Damien Newton on August 24, 2011

"(Last week we had a chance to talk with UCLA Professor and renowned Parking Rock Star Donald Shoup about Los Angeles’ ExpressPark system coming to the Downtown soon.  The transcript was edited slightly by both of us for clarity. For more information about ExpressPark and the city’s plans, visit Blog Downtown. – DN)"

"DN – Los Angeles is changing the way it does parking in Downtown.  They’re calling it the ExpressPark system."

Click to read the article

KEEP Your Businesses And Jobs

Attraction, Expansion and Retention

Of Businesses in Your Community

Attraction, expansion and retention of businesses for your community is vital.It is also one of the most difficult things for a community to successfully accomplish. It takes hard work, planning, and follow-through.

We recommend that a community go through a formal development of their Economic Development  Strategy. This will give you the plan you need to target your actions.   

However, most communities want to get started RIGHT NOW! So in the interim you can use the following as your strategy.

KEEP

Keep the businesses and jobs that you have

Expand the businesses you have

Enhance your community to attract new businesses

Protect and continuously improve your business environment

Keep the businesses and jobs that you have - Retention is actually the first and most important function. “Keep What You Have” is the cardinal rule of any good economic development program.  Barring a major disaster, loss of business has the most devastating impact on your community. If it is a large business or industry, you are unlikely to replace jobs for years or replace that service. Just how do you “keep the business”?  Here are some simple to remember rules.

1. Run an efficient, honest, and friendly local government.

2. Know your business community.

3. Let your business leaders know that they are appreciated.

4. Keep your businesses informed.

5. Help your business community when you can.

Who Does Your Business Retention?

It works best if you can make business retention a focus of your entire organization. Make your employees and citizens aware of how important it is to retain the businesses you have. Your employees are especially important. Part of their function is regulatory - the police, fire and inspection departments. You need to make sure that they try to do their regulatory jobs with as little negativity as possible. Make sure that they understand that the fiscal health of the community is tied to successful businesses in the community.  Employees are not asked to ignore infractions, but rather to approach them from a “let’s solve the problem” frame of reference rather than “this guy is the bad guy.”

Remember Boeing moved their corporate headquarters out of Seattle, partially based on their treatment there.  The big guy in town should be approached as a partner of the community not the “big bad guy.”

If the community has a full time Economic Development professional then retention and attraction are a principle part of his or her duties. Part of the decision of who does these functions is an assessment of the individual personality and character of the person the community chooses to lead their retention program. Some employees are born salesmen with a positive mental attitude.  Choosing an upbeat “can do” kind of employee to meet with and answer questions from your business community can work wonders. Some one who naturally networks with people and can cut through red tape to resolve problems can be key to retaining businesses.  Just remember, the employee must have the authority to commit the municipality to basic actions and they must follow through. These same principals apply when a community uses a part time employee.

Unfortunately, most smaller communities cannot afford a full time professional or all employees are maxed out with their regular duties.  These duties then fall to a citizen(s) or a commission who performs these functions as volunteers. Having local businessmen who can relate to and translate business problems on to the commission is a plus.

In this way a small community may task the municipal economic development commission with the responsibility to retain businesses. Many of the commission members will be local business men or women with a good knowledge of the other businesses in the community. They can network with these businesses and make sure that the business community knows they are appreciated by the municipality. And they can provide a good interface among the Village or City Council, the administration, and the Chamber of Commerce.

One simple way of showing businesses you care about them has been successfully developed by the Village of Tinley Park, Illinois. Each year the Village hosts a business breakfast where all business owners are invited. The Mayor and lead economic development Board Member give a “State of the Village” address where they let the business leaders in the community know what has been accomplished over the past year and what is planned for the future. They usually have a speaker to address the overall economy.This simple meeting helps the business community learn about the city and get to know their civic leaders. It goes a long way towards keeping the business owners positive about the Village.  It also provides business owners with an update on the economy and what the may expect in the future.  Service provides like the community college may be asked to attend.  Rather than speaking they might be allowed to set up a booth to describe their services to interested businesses at the informal coffee prior to the breakfast.

The City of Peoria developed a formal program entitled the Peoria Business Initiative (PBI) with the assistance of Executive Pulse. The PBI Program helps foster a business climate that encourages the retention and expansion of existing businesses in Peoria to provide quality jobs, a diverse workforce and an expanded tax base. The Department of Economic Development with other supportive agencies target existing companies and conduct on-site business visits.

Each PBI visit is an opportunity to:

Express appreciation for the company’s contribution to the local economy.

Learn more about the company’s strengths, successes, challenges and opportunities.

Gauge the company’s opinion about the local economy and recommendations for improvement.

Respond to and address any business concerns.

Click to Read IML Article

Expansion

Expand the businesses you have - Expand what you have is the second cardinal rule of a good economic development program. Your existing businesses that are successful will expand. You want them to expand in your community, increasing your tax base and providing jobs.

Your successful retention program will have helped keep your businesses in town. Helping them expand in your community is the next logical step.

So how do you do that?  The things that make your community successful will encourage your existing businesses to expand in your community. You can encourage this reinvestment in a number of ways.

You can work with your Chamber of Commerce, your regional economic development agency, consultants, and university/college supported organizations to conduct seminars on business expansion. And you can help businesses learn about and apply for State and regional programs that will help finance business expansion.

A municipal supported low interest loan program can be effective. Peoria County and the City of Peoria each set up low interest loan programs initially funded with a Federal grant.  Money is lent for business expansions at a low interest rate. The business must first obtain private financing for a major part of the expansion proving that the bank views the expansion as credit worthy. The government program is a percentage of the total expansion and is at risk first in the event of a default.  

Incentives play a very important part in both business expansion and attraction. Some of the most important programs include Tax Increment Financing Districts, Business Development Districts, Sales Tax Abatement, and Industrial Tax Abatement.  Theses are local municipal programs. Enterprise Zone and Edge Tax are two of several State programs; some are locally run and controlled .  These programs vary substantially among different governments, but generally rebate some or all of the new taxes generated by the new development for a set period of time. The Enterprise Zone can waive the sales tax on the material for the building expansion. The Business Development District can enact a new sales tax which can be rebated back to the business for specified improvements. TIF rebates property tax increases for specified improvements.

A description of State based programs, many with special requirements, is found below:

http://www.commerce.state.il.us/dceo/Bureaus/Business_Development/Tax+Assistance/

And keeping a positive mental attitude about your community is essential. There will always be naysayers about your community. You want to minimize the negativity and maximize the positive.

Click for the City of Peoria Programs

Attraction

Enhance your community to attract new businesses - Attracting new businesses to your community is actually what many people think is the principle part of the economic development function. As we have indicated, the first rules of economic development are to Keep What You Have and Grow What You Have. Attracting new businesses to your community is very difficult, especially if you are in a slow or no growth area of the State.

A major part of this effort is an ongoing effort to enhance your community. If your main entrance to town is an ugly strip, clean it up. Work to get dilapidated areas renewed. First impressions are vital.

The first thing you must decide is what types of businesses you should try to attract. You can go through a formal targeted industry program approach. Or you can try the more conventional approach, which we call:

SAATMACATF

Shoot At Anything That Moves And Claim Anything That Falls

This is actually what many programs do. Any time you hear of a possible interest in expansion in your region you contact the company and let them know that you are interested and invite them to visit. And ballyhoo any successes that you have.

A few years ago Mayor Jim Ardis of Peoria learned that the toy company LEGO was considering constructing a major theme park in the Midwest. Attracting this theme park would have been a major coup and we went full throttle trying to land them. We invited them to town and gave them the grand tour. We found one site they were interested in and gave them our best shot at incentives.  Ultimately they chose not to build in the Midwest, which unfortunately happens most of the time with attraction efforts. But it still important to try while recognizing that most of your wins will be much smaller deals.

Some years ago General Motors announced that they were looking for a location for the Saturn Factory.  Municipalities all over America went to great effort and expense to put forward proposals to GM.  Ultimately they chose one location and the efforts of all those governments did not succeed. That is the fate of most of these efforts.  

However, communities do succeed.  Some times you need to think of reaching first base instead of a home run. The Village of Saunemin, Illinois is a small community.  They had an eleven mile drive for gas or milk. They desired a gas station convenience store. They did a small study which documented the assets of their site and contacted developers with this analysis.  They, then, enacted a Tax Increment Financing District providing for Sales Tax Abatement and ultimately got a truck stop with a restaurant and convenience store.   Their first attempt  failed, but their subsequent step brought a needed business to town.  The small community gained sales tax, property tax, employment, and convenience for their residents.

If that other community near you made a  home run, use the successes in a neighboring community to leverage action of own.  Find out the industry’s suppliers and see if they are interested in your community for a new location.  You make your own first base or even home run. You have to try;  but you have to expect a great deal of rejection, especially if you are not in a high growth area.

So how do you approach your attraction program?  First designate who is running your program - is it a full time professional, or the part time effort of a staff member, or the part time effort of a Commission? Sometimes these efforts are contracted to regional, intergovernmental, or special purpose agencies.

Then you need to think through what types of businesses you will recruit.

You need a simple brochure. You can spend a lot of money on an expensive marketing piece. Or you can put together a simple one page flyer that says who you are, why you are a good location to locate a business, and a list of the types of incentives available.  We recommend that you do both.  Try to target your brochures to realistic possibilities and specify what makes you different.

You need a good web site that provides information in an attractive and easy to find way. And you want input from the State, your regional economic development agency, and the business community.  Use them even if you have an economic development program of your own.

Social Marketing has exploded the last few years and is a very low cost way of telling the world about the advantages of your community. There are many different ways to use the Internet and social marketing to promote your community, business and organization. The following is one way.

You try to make your web site or blog interesting to your intended reader. You can just have entries originated by you, but it will be more interesting if you add content from other similar web sites. It takes a little time to figure how to do it, but essentially you are linking other similar web sites, blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin and other sites to your blog. As they write new content it appears on your site.

Complex Blogs:

http://cityofpeoria.blogspot.com/

http://cityplanningnews.com/

First step for you? Create your Blog. For blogging I prefer http://blogger.com which is free and part of google, but there are numerous other free and low cost services. You can get up and blogging in a few minutes, although it will take some time to learn the tricks.

More on Social Marketing for Economic Development at:

http://socialmarketing201.blogspot.com/

Protect and continuously improve your environment - A major effort of any community must be to improve the local environment.  Businesses will choose to stay in your community or locate in your community based on their assessment of the community. And if your town looks bad with poor air and water quality and visual appearance then you will get nothing, or at best, poor types of industries. So keep at it. Make your community better and more attractive.

Following these simple rules can help you KEEP Business in your community. Good luck in your business retention, expansion, and attraction efforts.

Our Web Sites

http://craighullinger.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckeckenstahler

http://bethruyle.com/  

Free on line book on Economic Development.

http://cityeconomicdevelopment.blogspot.com/

Other web sites of interest.

http://cityplanningnews.com/

http://economicdevelopmentnews.blogspot.com/

http://cityofpeoria.blogspot.com/