for better regional economic development

David Hatfield

Inside Tucson Business

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The glare from the Fox Tucson Theatre downtown, late in the afternoon on March 28, was coming from a blueprint, of all things. Like a mirror shining back in our eyes, it blinds us to some of the shortcomings that have held back this region economically.

“Why not Tucson?” asked Steve Lynn, who served as the master of ceremonies for the unveiling of “Securing Our Future Now: An Economic Blueprint for the Tucson Region” to about 530 people. The report, prepared for Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc. (TREO), noted that six close-by comparable markets - Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Riverside, Calif., Salt Lake City and San Diego - are outpacing Tucson when it comes to economic development. So why not Tucson?

A review of costs among the cities found that Tucson’s best position is in its labor costs relative to the other six areas. But even that was tempered by the fact that benefit expenses here are higher than the national average. Similarly, land costs here are second only to Salt Lake City for being low but building costs are above the national average. Tucson fared the worst when it came to taxes, having the highest average taxes among all seven of the regions surveyed.

But the opportunity is here to change all of that, according to the blueprint.

The report calls for focusing on five strategic goals n called the power of five:

• High-skilled, high-wage jobs. The Tucson region has seen above-average job growth over the past decade but it hasn’t translated into prosperity. Now the focus must turn from quantity of jobs created to the quality of jobs created through well-defined targeted industry sectors, entrepreneurship and increasing workforce readiness and higher education, said Jim McGraw, principal of KMK Consulting, which spent seven months helping in the research and development of the plan.

• Education excellence. If Arizona’s state leaders continue to place it as a low priority, local leaders must develop an “education first culture,” said Lynn, who in addition to being master of ceremonies outlined this goal. Improving education is critical both for the families of businesses that want to locate here and to help provide a quality workforce, said Lynn, vice president of communications and government relations for Tucson Electric Power, which sponsored development of the blueprint.

• Urban renaissance. Vitality in an urban center provides a sense of community, said Mike Jameson, president and CEO of Tucson Newspapers, whose committee called for establishment of a private-public development group to be responsible for providing final recommendations, including spending Rio Nuevo tax increment financing money, to the Mayor and Council.

• Livable communities. Housing, healthcare, culture, environment, safety from crime, transportation, water and tourism all contribute to the livability and must be considered in development, because this region will continue to grow, said Rosey Koberlein, CEO for Long Companies.

• Collaborative governance and stewardship. Rick Myers, chief operating officer of Bourn Partners, struck a nerve with the audience, eliciting applause when he said local government has a reputation for being “unpredictable, uncooperative and slow” and recommended a strategy to “cut the red tape” to provide a one-stop fast-track permit process for commercial and industrial development. Myers also called for creation of a super regional resource partnership “a multi-government network designed to manage inter-megapolitan resources” of the Sun Corridor, which researchers are calling the area from Prescott, through Phoenix, Tucson, Sierra Vista and into Sonora. By 2040, it’s estimated the population in the Sun Corridor will double to 10 million.

Joe Snell, president and CEO of TREO, said the next step is to establish a leadership team to help direct the process for implementing the blueprint’s goals but he cautioned the responsibility is not solely TREO’s.

“We’re not big enough for that,” he said, telling the audience now is the time people “need to get off the sidelines and into the game.”

To clearly distinguish this blueprint from some others that might have preceded it, Snell said TREO will issue an annual report card to the community using measurable indicators of economic health, performance and competitiveness such as wage and job growth, creation of new firms in targeted industries, timeline reductions for getting government permits, educational attainment and student achievement scores and median household income.

E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Contact David Hatfield by e-mail at dhatfield@azbiz.com or call (520) 295-4237.

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