COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Law Symposium Speech, 2008
Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be here. I'd like to thank the Knox law firm for inviting me to speak today at the Municipal Law Symposium. I am honored to be here, and to have this opportunity to share with you my vision for Erie County.Today, I'd like to talk about the future. Not the future of county government, but the future of our entire community. Not a short-term future, defined by a few years, but a long-term future, that calls on all of us, the civic and business leaders of our community, to leave a legacy to the generation that will follow us.
I'd like to talk about a future of hope and opportunity, in a way that our county, our community, has not fully contemplated. What I'd like to talk about, then, are not the policies for twenty-ten -- though they are important -- but the vision, the strategic vision, for well into the future.
Forging a vision begins, as business writer Jim Collins points out, with facing some hard facts. And the hard facts that, in 2008, define the future of our community, are simply not as hopeful, nor are they as promising, as we would like them to be.
A study conducted by the Erie Community Foundation revealed these, alarming facts:
- 12 percent of Erie County residents, more than 32,000 people, live in poverty.
- For the City of Erie, almost 19 percent of the population, is living in poverty.
- In some census tracts in the City of Erie, poverty reached an astonishing rate of 32 to 45 percent.
- And a disproportionate number of children, especially African American and Hispanic children, are poor.
As the Community Foundation study clearly demonstrated, poverty has a price we must all pay for, and pay dearly, especially given the fact that poverty has an undeniably, negative impact, on economic growth.
Poverty, as one of America's leading demographers, Harold Hodgkinson, has long maintained, is the leading driver of failure, both human, and economic.
Children growing up in poverty will have more health problems, will have higher rates of teen pregnancy, will be more inclined to criminal activity, and will be more likely to drop out of school. Our Office of Children and Youth is looking after the welfare of 3,300 children in our community. For each of one of those 3,300 children, it is estimated that it will cost about $9,000 per year. If OCY has to take care of a child beginning at a young age, the cost easily exceeds $100,000 by the time the child leaves the system. And, here's another fact that's absolutely tragic. The largest population in homeless shelters is former OCY children. If we can offer a way to help families into economic stability, we can keep families together, and ultimately, see the staggering OCY numbers start to decline.
In America as a whole, the cost of poverty has been estimated at $500 billion dollars a year, or 3.8% of Gross Domestic Product. The cost of poverty in our own community, right here in Erie County, is in the millions. Of the $351 million dollar Erie County budget, over 80 percent is tied to human services. I want you to think about that number for a moment, 80 percent, or over $280 million dollars, is spent annually in Erie County on human services, which is almost three times the amount we spent on human services 10 years ago. We simply cannot continue on this path. I would not be doing my job, as County Executive, if I stepped aside and did nothing and watched those costs escalate year after year, placing an ever-increasing burden on the taxpayers. I'm asking you to join me in taking that leap that will transform our community into a forward thinking, progressive community filled not only with hope, but with aspirations.
But Erie County is not unique in the challenge that poverty, particularly child poverty, presents.
A key national trend, according to Hodgkinson, is that children make up a dis/proportion/ate number of those who are poor in America.
16 percent of all children in America, 12 million in all, are poor, with that rate climbing to 30 percent for African American children, and 29 percent for Hispanic children.
Again, in Erie County, not just the City of Erie, the rate of poverty for African American children is almost 47 percent, and for Hispanic children, almost 42 percent. Nearly half of the minority children in Erie County, live in poverty. In the 90's, the Carnegie Foundation reported that Erie, Pennsylvania, had one of the highest child poverty rates for minority children, in America. That's not a distinction any of us wants.
The educational and economic data are no less daunting.
College attendance rates for Erie County residents are 7.2 percent less than the national average, and 11.6 percent less than Allegheny County, a county, by the way, that has a thriving community college.
College attendance in the City of Erie is almost 12 percent less than the national average, and almost 14 percent less than the City of Pittsburgh.
And in terms of household income, the average for City households, is just over $31,000, compared to an average income of $just over 42,000 for all American households, a difference of almost $15,000. This means that the average U.S. household has an income 47% higher than the average household in our area.
Now what does all this mean? What do we do with all this data we've gathered?
Well, first we have to analyze the facts, before we can think strategically about them, and what our analysis tells us, is this:
We can, as the Community Foundation study stated, alleviate the cycle of poverty in our community, if we make quality education universally available from early childhood, up to, and including, adult training opportunities; and, if we can provide affordable health care for all, especially for the children who are left out of the current health care system.
It is critically important that our children enter school prepared to succeed, and those at the risk of failing at school, especially those children living in poverty, will need more than formal schooling to succeed. They will need mentoring and tutoring and after school and summer school support.
What the analysis tells us, as seen in the work of writers like Richard Florida and economist Robert Lucas, is that the cities that succeed on a grand scale, the communities that thrive and prosper economically and culturally, are ones that have a disproportionate share of college graduates. They are communities that have a clustering of creative talent that spurs technical innovation, and economic growth.
And without this cluster of talent—which we have, just not in the concentration we need—our current businesses can't grow, new business can't be incubated, and other businesses can't be attracted to come to our community.
We need to grow, and attract, a more highly educated, a more highly skilled pool of people -- a talent pool that makes poverty less prevalent and economic success more prominent. We need a talent pool capable of lifting a generation of children out of poverty, capable of stimulating an economic renaissance for Erie County that is benchmarked, not to the national average, but to a national success of the highest kind.
Finally, the analysis of the hard facts tells us that, to welcome this economic and educational renaissance, we need to establish an accessible, low cost, entry level institution of higher education. As stated in the Erie Community Foundation's report on the Community College and supported by the Gaps Analysis Committee by unanimous vote, "IT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE TO DO NOTHING."
A community college would be utilized by all, but especially young people and adults who are faced with severe financial constraints, those who may not be able to handle the educational demands of a four-year institution, and those who may not be prepared to attend a traditional four-year college. I want to emphasize that community colleges do not compete with four-year universities for students. Community colleges prepare students to succeed at those universities. Community college operating philosophies dictate flexibility, innovation, creativity, and timely responsiveness. In an era of rapidly changing technologies, community colleges help local business and industry avoid obsolescence, thus aiding employee retention, increasing productivity, and promoting business retention in our community.
Another key factor in our economic success is the extension of the Erie International Airport runway. This project is undoubtedly one of the single most important projects for our region. The economic impact is massive in terms of what it can do for our community. Increased passenger and cargo arrivals coming into our area will bring new dollars into our region. This will have a positive impact on our economy, resulting in new dollars being spent in our community, and new income generated in our region. With the purchase of jet fuel, parts, maintenance services, warehousing, labor and tourism, many will indirectly reap the benefits of additional planes flying into Erie. Based on studies of other airports and regions similar to Erie, we can expect a conservative multiplier of 1.6. This means that for every $100 of new expenditures derived from increased airport operations resulting from the runway extension, the economy will experience a total impact of $160. The projected conservative return on the County investment alone, of $25.7 million, is expected to be $5.9 million, which translates to a payback of a little over four years.
Let me speak for a moment about the County's philosophy relative to the sustainability of the economic vitality of the region. We have all noticed that the drift from manufacturing to service and tourism has been more pronounced in our area, but while we have lost major industries, we have developed a new balance in terms of how we see "quality of life." We have learned to ask the right questions about how we envision the economic future of the region. The Chinese have a saying, "In order to have better times, you must first imagine them." We imagine our piece of Northwest Pennsylvania as the sort of place where the quality of life is a more powerful influence than just a high standard of living. We have a positive, optimistic vision of the future. Achieving a good quality of life for our citizens requires that we deliver on a range of elements – access to employment, training and education, recreation and cultural opportunities, health services, social services, infrastructure, and a clean and safe environment.
We can achieve this improved and enhanced quality of life for our citizens by following the comprehensive plan developed by the Regional Assets Funding Committee. Their plan for unrestricted gaming funds is broken down into four categories. First, the unrestricted gaming funds will help provide financial stability and allow endowments to build capital or programming for some dedicated regional assets, such as the Erie Zoo, the Children's Museum, the Arts Council, the Erie Philharmonic, the Erie Playhouse, and the Erie Art Museum, and for civic and cultural events, special events, and public safety assets.
Second, the plan also includes monies for a human services initiative. Reducing poverty, promoting employment and career advancement, enhancing job training opportunities, improving access to quality healthcare, and helping non-profit corporations, are all part of the human services initiative. The third part of their plan allows for funding for transportation and education, which will include mass transit projects and community college costs. And finally, the plan submitted by the Regional Assets Funding Committee is asking for the creation of a Rainy Day fund to cover unanticipated costs associated with gaming or emergency projects.
The Gaming Revenue Authority has designated the restricted gaming revenues for major projects, such as the airport runway extension, as well as economic development and community projects and the establishment of a Revitalization Fund, which will be used as matching funds for various municipal infrastructure projects.
All of these items are designed to enhance the quality of life for all of our citizens. I'm asking you to look at the broader picture and to support Erie County's advancement and progress. By working together with a common vision, we can accomplish these goals, and Erie County can and will be transformed into a resounding success story.
I understand that people in our community fear change, but change is absolutely critical to our success. Even though the creation of a community college and the development of an airport runway extension are critical to our future success, some in our community are not yet completely convinced. But if you recall, when our community went through the difficult process of selecting a site for a new library, time and time again, people said, "Nobody will go to a library on the bayfront," and yet, the Blasco Library has been a huge success with a half a million visitors a year. I also remember people saying, "Nobody will go to a baseball game downtown," and yet, Jerry Uht Ballpark attracts hundreds of thousands of people every spring and summer, creating an economic stimulus for the entire downtown region, while creating new businesses, and bringing millions of dollars into the City. And yet another time when I was on County Council, I heard people say, "Nobody will use a convention center on the bayfront," but its magnificence has proven so many wrong. People are drawn to its beauty, and in fact, our expectations have already been exceeded.
We have one of the finest regions across the State, and our potential is enormous. I'm asking the citizens of Erie County to make a commitment with me in supporting the airport runway extension and establishing a community college, because it's the right thing to do. I would rather be part of a community that is willing to stand up and move forward than to stay stagnant and watch our demise. I want to raise up our citizens to be stronger than ever before, to turn non-believers into believers, and to create not just a "can-do" attitude, but a "WILL-do" attitude.
We need to establish a community college, to help drive a new vision for the future of Erie County, a future in which every child can, and must, get a quality education; where every child can, and must, succeed; a future in which poverty is no longer prevalent in our community, and every citizen, especially our children, has health care that is world class.
There is a broken link in the chain tying poverty and education together, and that is poor health. If people in our community are not educated, they are not able to find suitable employment, and if they're not healthy, they are not able to work at all. And, most of the jobs the underserved are able to get, do not offer healthcare. We have outstanding medical care and facilities for those who have healthcare plans, but for those who don't, the outlook is very bleak. In our society healthcare is essentially limited to those with the means and the ability to pay for it themselves or through employee health plans. There are severe limits, most especially with regard to preventive healthcare, on what someone without access to healthcare can do, and the problem is quickly compounded when a major health problem arises. Today, of the 6,500 children eligible for CHIPS in Erie County, only 3,000 are enrolled. Too many of our citizens are being forced to make a choice between putting food on the table and paying for a prescription. Not only is it fundamentally wrong for people to have to choose; it is too costly to the business community and it is devastating to families. It has been firmly established that it is infinitely cheaper to pay for preventive care than to pay for the devastating consequences of the lack of it. It is for these reasons that I have been working diligently with our community leaders, church elders, healthcare professionals, and other community participants to focus on finding solutions to the disparity in healthcare across Erie County. We cannot ignore this issue. This crisis can be solved, and it will be solved, through collaboration, coordination, and outreach.
By offering both educational opportunities and health care options, we will be giving the people of Erie County an opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families.
I see a future in which Erie is no longer below that national average—in the number of college educated people, in the number of highly skilled people, and in our annual household incomes—but instead, is routinely recognized among the leading communities in America.
I see Erie County, by twenty-twenty, having the healthiest, the best educated, and the most secure citizens of any county in the country.
And I see a future in which we regard ourselves, not just in material terms, not just in terms of jobs and household incomes and economic opportunity, but in civic terms. We can, and should expect, from our children, from all of our citizens, a deeper connection to the civic culture of our community.
Therefore, that is why I say, "in civic terms," because it will not be enough for the next generation to simply succeed as individuals. They will need to succeed as citizens as well, citizens capable of building social and civic as well as economic capital, citizens capable of starting and sustaining Erie's renaissance.
Probably most of us here, as children, had parents or family members who encouraged us, supported us, and gave us the promise of a bright future. Imagine, for a moment, having a childhood with no encouragement, no support, and no promise of a bright future. What would your motivation be to do well in school, or to even finish school? What would your motivation be to stay out of trouble? What hope could you possibly have for a brighter future? People living in poverty, and especially children living in poverty, suffer from feelings of hopelessness, frustration, fear, and distrust. When there is no hope, there is no motivation.
Now, imagine an Erie County where our children grow up healthy and strong, living in a safe and protected environment, an Erie County where all children, regardless of their income, will have the opportunity for higher education and a brighter future. Imagine an Erie County that is filled with motivated and hopeful students, productive citizens, and vibrant and thriving communities.
Let's start that renaissance today. Let's lift the next generation, and let's lift the entire Erie County community, to a level unprecedented in our history. Let's do it today, by committing ourselves to a community college, to a runway extension project, and to affordable and accessible healthcare for all of our citizens, especially our children, and in doing so, plant the seeds, which will grow the trees, under which we may never sit…though the generations that follow us, most certainly will.
Thank you.