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'Quality of place' key, says state DED chief
McCOOK, Neb. — Communities that concentrate on quality of life and basics like adequate housing and a trained labor pool are more successful in supporting and attracting businesses, a state official told the McCook Rotary Club on Tuesday.
David Rippe, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, told the group that the communities that are focusing on building a quality of place where people want to live are the communities that are “ahead of the curve.”
He explained that jobs are everywhere and the entire country is in a “war for talent.”
People can live anywhere and do their jobs from anywhere, and as a result are actually less mobile. “Now if Company X does come to your community, they’re coming because they have vetted out your talent base, they know what your labor pool is, and they’re not coming with the expectation that people are going to move there.”
Rippe said that the communities that are doing it the best are those that are focusing on developing their own businesses, have access to available affordable housing, and have proximity to the amenities that people want like entertainment, culture, and lifestyle options.
Hired by Gov. Pete Rickets in November 2017, Rippe joked that in DED years, 17 months on the job is a long time. Previously, he was the executive director of Hastings (Neb.) Economic Development Corp. for eight years. Rippe worked five years for the State of Nebraska as a fiscal analyst and an economic development consultant in business recruitment and development.
Rippe said that his department is broken into three functions – community development, housing, and business development.
The community development and housing functions have about $40 million in aid and helps with infrastructure and downtown revitalization projects. These arms of the department receive federal funds from housing and urban development for Community Development Block Grants for mostly income restricted housing.
The business development function includes teams to recruit businesses, both domestic and international, as well as a business innovation team. This team works to grow businesses within the state by assisting with prototyping and research, and securing seed investment capital.
Rippe said that the Business Innovation Act receives $6 million per year in appropriations.
Their most recent measurement showed that the program returns $6.5 million per year back to state and local governments in the form of taxes. In the last seven years, the program helped to create 600 jobs that pay 120 percent of the state average wage. According to Rippe, for every public $1 that is invested into the program, an additional $4.70 is invested from private capital.
Changes are currently being proposed that will make funding more accessible for smaller communities. The Nebraska Advantage program requires $1 million in investment and the creation of ten jobs. “Ten jobs might not sound like a lot, but in 63 of the 93 counties in Nebraska, creating 10 jobs is the equivalent of creating 1,000 jobs in Omaha,” Rippe said. Under the new bill, five jobs will be the minimum threshold and the tax credits that companies earn under the bill can be more broadly utilized for such things as talent attraction and development and infrastructure investments.
Rippe also has a goal of making the application process more efficient. “We are working on de-governmenting the department of economic development. We are still government, and we still need to be good stewards of the state’s tax dollars. You don’t want us just handing out money to people -- unless it’s you,” Rippe joked.
“Understanding the balance between being good stewards and still having accessible programs; that’s the line that we have to walk.”