Panel shares
insight on Solano economic, community growth
By Kevin W. Green From page B8 |
January 30, 2016
FAIRFIELD — A three-member panel shared
insight on economic and community growth in Solano County during the Solano
Economic Development Corporation’s 33rd annual meeting luncheon Friday.
Robert Eyler, Don Schjeldahl and Audrey Taylor
spoke on the theme of We’re Moving Solano Forward, before an audience of more
than 300 who gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn.
The trio is part of the team recently
contracted through the Solano Economic Development Corporation to develop the
knowledge and tools to position the county economy for growth.
Eyler started off by saying 2015 was robust
for Solano County, with 4,300 new jobs – the most since 2005.
“There’s been a lot of good news about Solano
County and what’s been going on,” he said.
Many people question what’s next, Eyler said.
Interest rates look like they’re going to start rising, the Chinese economy is
showing some issues and there is uncertainty in politics, he said.
There are points to consider in moving ahead,
Eyler said. There is a need to be mindful of the global, national and regional
economic context, he stressed.
It’s important to build businesses looking at
the future, not so much looking at the past, he said.
“We want economic diversity and we also want
to be bulletproof against the next recession, which we know is going to come,”
he said.
“You’re never going to be totally bulletproof,
no matter how economically diverse your communities are,” he said, however.
There will still be some exposure to a
recession, he said.
Eyler also pointed to the need for balance.
One of the other challenges here is to
identify what businesses export beyond Solano County, because about 25,000
people leave the county every day to do a job someplace else, he said.
He also spoke of opportunities that are ahead.
“The bottom line is that businesses are going
to want to migrate when prices start to rise. And the Bay Area is a great
example of this,” he said. “Are you ready for that migration? Our project is
going to have some of the answers to that.”
Corporate site selection is much different now
than in the past, Schjeldahl said in his presentation. The world is much more
complex, he said. The markets are rapidly changing, he said.
A successful business today must be flexible
and adaptable, he said. You need to know where you sit in the global economy,
he said.
Schjeldahl also spoke of the younger
workforce. They have a different view of quality of life, he said.
Businesses need to have a vision to train the
workforce of tomorrow, he said.
Schjeldahl also talked of changes in Solano
County. The county was isolated 20 years ago, he said. That isolation is
going away, he said.
There is a choice of what to do, he said.
There is a need to figure out what to do to attract a diversified economy,
he said.
Taylor, meanwhile, said she was impressed with
the county and its long-term planning. What you have here is distinct, she
said.
She talked of the need to be ready for
opportunities. In a global context, the speed of a business is critical, she
said.
Businesses must also know their surroundings.
Economic development has to understand what growth is taking place, she said.
Taylor also focused on workforce development.
It’s important that the skill set matches the economy you want, she said.
Businesses must be prepared for disruptive
changes as well, she said. We have to adjust to those, she said.
Taylor pointed to the need for sound city
government as an attraction. Businesses also look at fiscal management of
cities, she said.
Among the points she made, Taylor said there
is a need to share value and vision. Typically there is a vision of what
sectors you want to grow, she said.
Eyler is president of Economic Forensics and
Analytics Inc. and professor of economics at Sonoma State University.
Schjeldahl, principal at DSG Advisors, is a corporate site
consultant. Taylor is president of the economic development consulting
firm, Chabin Concepts.
Reach Kevin W. Green at
427-6974 or kgreen@dailyrepublic.net.