As published in the April 1, 2006 Toledo Business Journal
Mark Litten
Northwest Ohio Regional Economic Development,
incoming president and
Greater Erie County Marketing Group, executive director
Toledo Business Journal recently met with Mark Litten, incoming president of Northwest Ohio Regional Economic Development organization (NORED) and executive director of Greater Erie County Marketing Group. He shared the following thoughts.
TBJ: As the incoming president of NORED, can you share your thoughts on the outlook for job growth in the region?
ML: There are a couple major issues. One, retention of what we have right now is extremely important – we have to focus on that. My father was a salesman and his motto was always: “It’s a lot easier to keep a good customer than it is to go find a new one.” One of the things we’ve done here in Erie County is focus on the retention and expansion of our existing industries. We’ve found that you get more job growth and investment from the companies you already have, than trying to go out and woo new companies. We need to take care of what we have in our backyard.
Secondly, I think each community in northwest Ohio needs to evaluate what their strengths and weaknesses are, maybe through a strategic planning process. We are in a global economy and we have to figure out ways to compete in it. If you don’t figure it out, you’re going to be left behind.
I think things are going to be tough in the automotive area, as we’re already experiencing. Some of the things that the State of Ohio has done, with the changes in the tax code, are creating an environment that makes us more competitive for manufacturing projects. The wild card out there right now is the Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler case, which is a debate on whether incentives are legal.
TBJ: What advice would you provide for advancing the economy in our region?
ML: Local communities – through their elected and municipal officials and their economic development professionals – need to continue to create and enhance an environment that encourages investment. If we can be successful with that, then we’ll see job growth and retention.
We economic development professionals in the eleven counties of northwest Ohio need to be facilitators and we need to be aggressive in providing professional services to our private sector community, because that’s who creates the jobs.
TBJ: Can you share your thoughts on the issue of regional economic development and NORED’s role?
ML: NORED needs to get better at what we do, as far as being an advocacy group on regional issues that affect northwest Ohio, whether those are legislative issues, which we are very strong in; networking; or professional development.
There aren’t many projects that one of us in NORED hasn’t done at some point, so we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. We’re a close-knit group and we need to help each other out to leverage things. There’s no sense in the eleven counties competing against one another. We need to pool our resources to get developers interested in northwest Ohio. That is NORED’s role – working with the public and private sector to stimulate investment and job growth in our communities.
NORED’s a great organization. If I have something that comes up, I can always call a number of people that are associated or members of NORED and get answers. There’s a lot of great talent and resources available through the membership of NORED. We have both public and private sector members. We in NORED need to recognize that we can utilize each other. That’s one of my goals for ‘06-’07: to make sure that we know what talent is available within our midst and how to best utilize that talent.
TBJ: What is the number one thing that you personally would like to accomplish during your term at the head of NORED?
ML: Increasing the involvement of the private sector in NORED. I’m basing that on the model that we’ve used here in Erie County. GEM, Greater Erie Marketing, is a nonprofit economic development corporation. We did a capital campaign in 2004 and now over 80 percent of our funding comes from the private sector. Our board of trustees reflects that. It goes back to the idea that the private sector is the one that invests the money and creates and retains the jobs. We need to get some of those folks to our table who aren’t there now.
NORED is recognized statewide as a leader in regional economic development. Other areas of the state look to NORED to base their models on. We’re very strong when we want to advocate on an issue, and we have clout in Columbus. We need to continue that so that northwest Ohio can be a better place. That’s the goal of economic development: make our communities a better place to live, work, and raise our kids. Hopefully we create enough jobs that our kids stay here when they grow up. That’s why I’m in this field.
TBJ: Is there any other issue that you would like to address?
ML: As a region, we need to work together a lot better. Too often we get caught up in our own little turf battles and we have to understand that if a project happens in Fremont in Sandusky County, for example, that’s good for me here in Erie County. It’s better for them, yes, because they get the tax base, but I know there will be people from my community going to work there.
We shouldn’t be afraid to ask each other for help, either. Nor should we be afraid to say yes. We can get more accomplished if we work together and that makes the region more successful. We need to band together and lock arms and start winning projects together.