Economy League Convenes 1st Regional Leaders Roundtable

Contact: Allison Kelsey
215 875 1000 x14; [email protected]

For immediate release

(Philadelphia - April 17, 2009)  The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia sat down with more than 30 of Greater Philadelphia's business and nonprofit leaders from across sectors for candid discussions about the state of the city and regional economy.

Everyone, from traditionally strong "eds and meds" to real estate, described the recession's chilling effects, yet there was agreement that the area's history of experiencing trends later than do other regions - the "Philly lag" - could be advantageous.

Center City District's Paul Levy captured the question this way: "Are we buffered from the storm and about to go down a little bit and come back up, or are we just way back in the caboose so the worst hasn't gotten here yet?"

Irrespective of that question's outcome, participants concurred that structural matters, particularly in the City of Philadelphia's economy, require attention. "We have a budget problem with the pensions, the tax structure, and construction costs," said Econsult's Dick Voith. "We do things counterproductively. We could be really well positioned if we fix things like labor contracts, tax structure, and competitive contracts with the construction trades - we really have to re-work the cost of doing business."

There was concern about how much the City of Philadelphia's fiscal difficulties color the whole region when viewed from other markets.  And locally, are companies reducing costs - especially staff - because they must or because "they can"?

Yet, Select Greater Philadelphia's Tom Morr said he was "pleasantly surprised" that inquiries from companies seeking information about relocating to the Philadelphia region have not fallen off. In fact, the size of the projects are bigger - perhaps the result of consolidations, not new growth. "We have 11 large projects," Morr said, with between 100 and 1,000 jobs.  But, he cautioned, "We could see all of them, or none."

When discussion turned to the effects of the stimulus plan and to creation of "green jobs" in particular, the group was concerned about the region's preparedness with appropriate projects or enough educated workers. Said the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board's Sallie Glickman, "There will be some opportunity, but our people have a huge literacy and skills gap. We estimate we're going to see a doubling of our appropriations (via the stimulus package), but none of the new money is addressing the literacy gap in our labor force."

Tony Girifalco of the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center echoed that sentiment.  "Companies with Department of Defense work are doing pretty well, he said, and makers of medical devices, instrumentation, and food processing are steady. In the private sector, certain companies are reporting that demand is surprisingly strong. But," he emphasized, "our educational system is not producing the people they need."

Despite the weaknesses, the diversity of the whole region was looked to as a strength. During this difficult period, suggested Temple University urban studies professor Carolyn Adams, "Let's not intensify competition between city and suburbs, or within sectors." Tom Kaiden of the Cultural Alliance ended this way, "What Greater Philadelphia's strength is 10 years from now is as important to think about as tomorrow or next month."

The edited transcript of the meetings, Economy League Roundtable I.09: Greater Philadelphia's Leaders on the Regional Economy, is available for download at www.EconomyLeague.org.

The Economy League would like to know what others are experiencing, particularly from senior decision-makers in business and nonprofit organizations in the region.

Roundtable Participants

Steve Wray, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia (moderator)
Carolyn Adams, Temple University
Patricia Blakely, The Merchants Fund
Joanne Bursich, Nonprofit Finance Fund
John Claypool, American Institute of Architects, Philadelphia Chapter
David L. Cohen, Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Danielle Cohn, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau
Ethan Connor-Ross, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.
Ed D'Alba, Urban Engineers Inc.
Jeff DeVuono, Brandywine Realty Trust
David Dickson, US Small Business Administration
Denise Earley, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
David Elesh, Temple University
David Fair, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Varsovia Fernandez, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Tony Girifalco, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center
Sallie Glickman, Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board
Maureen Greene, US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Patricia Hasson, Consumer Credit Counseling Service
Phil Hopkins, Select Greater Philadelphia
Debra Kahn, Delaware Valley Grantmakers
Tom Kaiden, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Paul Levy, Central Philadelphia Development Corp., Center City District
Tom Morr, Select Greater Philadelphia
Steve Mullin, Econsult
Jason Novak, Federal Reserve Bank
Gregory J. Nowak, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Gerald L. Perrins, Jr, US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Andy Toy, The Enterprise Center
Christopher M. Veno, Trion
Dick Voith, Econsult
Steven Wanner, Ernst & Young
Tony Wigglesworth, Philadelphia Area Labor Management Committee 

About the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia
The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to research and analysis of the region's resources and challenges with the goal of promoting sound public policy and increasing the region's prosperity. ELGP is an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Economy League, Inc., with offices in Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, and Pittsburgh.