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
TURN TO PROFESSORS WHO PRACTICE WHAT THEY TEACH. Dr. Lee Meadows Professor of Management At Walsh College, our curriculum is developed with insights from the conference room, then taught in the classroom. So, if you’re ready to turn hard work into a degree that works, turn to Walsh. GET STARTED AT WALSHCOLLEGE.EDU TROY CLINTON TWP NOVI PORT HURON
Change language