The Columbus Comeback
I wanted to just put a link to this story but you can't read it without a subscription so I'll paraphrase the article and credit those responsible.
From Time magazines Rana Foroohar, its a story titled The Columbus Comeback: Ohio's capital moved beyond partisanship to become a model for economic growth.
When the recession hit, Columbus was faced with cutting $100 million from the budget, 15% of the total operating budget. Mayor Coleman used mandatory furloughs, he closed 12 rec centers, reduced our trash pickup (for a year we had to pay for our yard waste removal) but it wasn't enough.
Per Coleman, "We were at a crossroad. If I cut more we were going to have to lay-off 1,100 public workers, including firefighters and police. I'd be compromising public safety and contributing to the unemployment. It was time to ask ourselves, what kind of city do we want to be?"
Coleman went to the local business community, a mostly conservative group (our mayor and city council are all Dems.) and asked for their help in supporting a tax increase. After noticing the austerity measures already in place, the businesses agreed after Coleman vowed to put 1/3 of the increase into developement. "Communities were either moving forward or moving backward with very little in between" said Les Wexner. "we chose to invest in our future at a very critical time, and the results are paying off".
Today Columbus unemployment stands at 5.7%, from a high of 10.4. All our rec centers have reopened (if they aren't its due to ongoing construction). We not only have free yard waste removal again but an excellent recycling process in place. We've been able to match federal funds for a new entry point into Rickenbacker and allow for its expansion. Our housing market is now one of the best in the nation and the city has set aside $12 million to remove blighted buildings. The new cancer center is set to open next year resulting in another 6,000 jobs. We have 4 new parks, 2 in the downtown area.
The article closes with this, investors would be wise to invest here. Columbus has gone beyond partisan politics and supply side nonsense to create real growth. People will soon start paying attention to this city- and the others around the country that are quietly moving ahead while Washington remains gridlocked.
From Time magazines Rana Foroohar, its a story titled The Columbus Comeback: Ohio's capital moved beyond partisanship to become a model for economic growth.
When the recession hit, Columbus was faced with cutting $100 million from the budget, 15% of the total operating budget. Mayor Coleman used mandatory furloughs, he closed 12 rec centers, reduced our trash pickup (for a year we had to pay for our yard waste removal) but it wasn't enough.
Per Coleman, "We were at a crossroad. If I cut more we were going to have to lay-off 1,100 public workers, including firefighters and police. I'd be compromising public safety and contributing to the unemployment. It was time to ask ourselves, what kind of city do we want to be?"
Coleman went to the local business community, a mostly conservative group (our mayor and city council are all Dems.) and asked for their help in supporting a tax increase. After noticing the austerity measures already in place, the businesses agreed after Coleman vowed to put 1/3 of the increase into developement. "Communities were either moving forward or moving backward with very little in between" said Les Wexner. "we chose to invest in our future at a very critical time, and the results are paying off".
Today Columbus unemployment stands at 5.7%, from a high of 10.4. All our rec centers have reopened (if they aren't its due to ongoing construction). We not only have free yard waste removal again but an excellent recycling process in place. We've been able to match federal funds for a new entry point into Rickenbacker and allow for its expansion. Our housing market is now one of the best in the nation and the city has set aside $12 million to remove blighted buildings. The new cancer center is set to open next year resulting in another 6,000 jobs. We have 4 new parks, 2 in the downtown area.
The article closes with this, investors would be wise to invest here. Columbus has gone beyond partisan politics and supply side nonsense to create real growth. People will soon start paying attention to this city- and the others around the country that are quietly moving ahead while Washington remains gridlocked.
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