PROSPER®

Q & A --- WITH L.BROOKS PATTERSON
Economic
Development
Strategy Pays Off
OAKLAND COUNTY EXECUTIVE L. BROOKS PATTERSON
is known for telling it like it is — during the 19 years he was county
prosecutor and in the last 24 years in Oakland County government’s
top spot. Here, he discusses the strategies he adopted to propel the
county into becoming one of the most prosperous in the nation.
Q What’s the key to Oakland County’s economic
development successes?
A Back in 2004, when we were beginning to feel the early onset
of the recession, I saw it as an opportunity to diversify our
economic base. We did some research and found out what the
next 10 sectors for future employment would be — businesses that
would move us away from manufacturing and into what people
refer to as a knowledge-based economy. We called the program
Emerging Sectors®. We also kicked off Medical Main Street® as an
opportunity to expand our health care sector.
Q So how’d that work out for you?
A It is an enormous success. Back in ’09, our unemployment in
Oakland County exceeded that of the United States — we had
something like 13 percent. It was devastating. In mid 2015, our
unemployment was at 4.1 percent and heading lower.
We have 358 successes — businesses we’ve attracted. They’ve
invested $3.2 billion here. These are jobs that basically require higher
education — and that’s good. Our county leads the state in the
number of residents who have bachelor’s degrees. Again, it’s just
trying to diversify the base, and that eliminates much of the risk.
In Emerging Sectors® alone — this doesn’t count traditional
investment in automotive and other industries — we’ve created
36,630 new jobs and retained 20,704.
Q How significant is the county’s approach to fiscal oversight?
A Our fiscal programs have consistently earned us a AAA bond
rating, which allows us to borrow for programs — construction
mostly — at the lowest possible rates. It’s not quite free money,
but damn close. Our pensions are about 115 percent funded. We’re
sitting on a sizeable chunk of change — about $400 million that we
have access to — where other counties are scrambling. We built a
courthouse in Rochester. We’re probably going to move forward and
build a new animal shelter. We have the cash to do those things.
Serious investors, when they want to bring a company here from
overseas, they look at a lot of factors, not the least of which is the
fiscal shape of the county. Right now we have over 1,040 foreignowned
firms from 39 nations who have come and built the biggest
foreign investment in the state of Michigan right here in Oakland
County. They like what they see — they know it’s a well-run county.
Q Any other benefits?
A When you’re in the hole, you can’t pull money out to send
people to trade fairs in Italy or Germany or China. But if you have
a vast surplus, you can — and we do. It allows us to add to those
1,040 companies that come from overseas. When they come, they
bring some of their management team, but the everyday workers
are hired from locals — we have probably 125,000-135,000 Oakland
County or Southeast Michigan residents working for them. We
also take our companies with us and help them break into foreign
markets. If you’re Fiat-Chrysler or GM, you can get there; but if
you are a small company with 15 employees, penetrating a foreign
market is a little bit daunting.
Q What about growing pains?
A One of the side effects is having trouble finding people to
take some of the jobs. We’re working with Oakland Community
College and Oakland University, and they’re cooperating incredibly
to teach to the skill sets that are needed within these 10 sectors.
Q Anything else on your mind?
A It’s a prosperous county, but we also have excellent quality
of life. We have so many things: Quake on the Lake on Pontiac
Lake, the Fire & Ice Festival in Rochester, the Woodward Dream
Cruise. After my son was killed, I started the Brooksie Way Half
Marathon, and we now have 6,000 runners. My staff hates it when
I go on vacation, because I normally sit around the pool and jot
down ideas, then come back with new programs I want to launch.
Q What about your plans?
A I’m definitely going to run for one more term. It beats working.
2 OAKLANDCOUNTYPROSPER.COM 2016