Economic Development in Berks County: Why it's Important to My Community
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This document discusses economic development in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It notes that Berks County's population grew 7-10% per decade until 2007, but has seen little growth since 2010 due to more people moving out than moving in. Manufacturing and healthcare were the top growing industry sectors from 2009-2014. The document analyzes tax bases and tax rates across municipalities in the county. It introduces tools to identify suitable commercial and industrial lands based on factors like infrastructure. The document emphasizes the importance of incentives, permitting processes, and LERTA programs to attract businesses and help with expansion.
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Economic Development in Berks County: Why it's Important to My Community
- 1. Economic Development in Berks County & Why is it Important to my Community?
- 2. Berks County Outlook 2016 • Increased Role of Municipalities • Growth in Manufacturing and Logistics/Distribution Industries • Workforce Availability Focus • Increase in International Leads • Filling the Site and Infrastructure Pipeline is Critical
- 3. 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 1980 1990 2000 2010 Berks County Population 1980-2010 County Population Berks County has had a 7-10% increase in population each decade. Source: BCPC, U.S. Census Bureau
- 4. 360,000 370,000 380,000 390,000 400,000 410,000 420,000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Berks County Population Since 2000 County Population Beginning in 2007, that growth slows. Since 2010, there has been little population growth. Source: BCPC, U.S. Census Bureau
- 5. -1,000 -500 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Why is Population Growth Slowing Down? Natural Increase Net Migration Since 2011, our population has been steadied by "natural increase" or babies being born in the County. This is offsetting negative net migration. More people are moving out of Berks County than moving in. Source: BCPC, U.S. Census Bureau
- 6. Employment Recap • County employment increased 4.1% between 2009 and 2014 • 8,893 total jobs added (Full & Part time) • 88% of jobs are private sector, 11% are public sector, 1% farms Source: BCPC, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
- 7. Top Industry Sectors by Number of Jobs Lost/Gain 2009-2014 -1,555 Finance +2,529 Healthcare -785 Retail -1,285 Local Government +3,021 Office/Clerical +2,827 Manufacturing Source: BCPC, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
- 8. Source: BCPC, Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board Market Value Reports: 2008-2014 $0 $50,000,000 $100,000,000 $150,000,000 $200,000,000 $250,000,000 $300,000,000 $350,000,000 $400,000,000 $450,000,000 BernvilleBorough BethelTownship HeidelbergTownship JeffersonTownship LowerHeidelbergTwp. MarionTownship NorthHeidelbergTwp. PennTownship RobesoniaBorough SouthHeidelbergTwp. TulpehockenTownship WernersvilleBorough WomelsdorfBorough West Region Communities Tax Bases 2008-2014 2008 Tax Base Inf. Adj. 2014 Tax Base
- 9. Source: BCPC, Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board Market Value Reports: 2008-2014 -0.4% 11.5% 1.5% 3.2% 3.7% 20.5% 2.3% 6.0% -2.3% 4.2% 6.0% -0.5% 4.0% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% BernvilleBorough BethelTownship HeidelbergTownship JeffersonTownship LowerHeidelbergTwp. MarionTownship NorthHeidelbergTwp. PennTownship RobesoniaBorough SouthHeidelbergTwp. TulpehockenTownship WernersvilleBorough WomelsdorfBorough West Region Communities Tax Base Growth 2008-2014 Percent Increase
- 10. West Region Communities What’s generating your tax base? Source: BCPC Most tax bases in the region relies heavily on residential development. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% HeidelbergTwp. MarionTownship NorthHeidelberg… RobesoniaBorough SouthHeidelberg… Wernersville… Womelsdorf… BernvilleBorough BethelTownship JeffersonTownship PennTownship TulpehockenTwp. Agricultural Commercial Industrial Residential
- 11. Millage Amount by Taxing Body by School District - 2016 Source: BCPC 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.025 0.030 0.035 0.040 0.045 MarionTownship NorthHeidelbergTwp. RobesoniaBorough SouthHeidelbergTwp. WernersvilleBorough WomelsdorfBorough BernvilleBorough BethelTownship JeffersonTownship PennTownship TulpehockenTwp. Municipal Tax Mills School District Tax Mills County Millage
- 12. West Region Communities Total 2016 Tax Bill Based on the Same $100,000 House Source: BCPC $2,400 $2,500 $2,600 $2,700 $2,800 $2,900 $3,000 $3,100 MarionTownship NorthHeidelberg Twp. RobesoniaBorough SouthHeidelberg Twp. WernersvilleBorough WomelsdorfBorough BernvilleBorough BethelTownship JeffersonTownship PennTownship TulpehockenTwp. Total Tax Bill County Median Tax Bill on the House
- 13. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2029-30 2030-31 2031-32 2032-33 2033-34 2034-35 2035-36 2036-37 2037-38 2038-39 2039-40 PSERS Employer Contribution Rates to 2039-2040 Actual Projected
- 19. Berks County Sites and Infrastructure Strategy Goal: To determine the most suitable areas in Berks County for commercial and industrial uses based on prioritized factors. Source: BCPC, RTP Sites and Infrastructure Committee
- 20. Factors: 1. Land Free of Environmental / Land Use Constraints 2. Interchanges 3. Major Roads (Interstate, U.S. Route, State Route) 4. Public Sewer Service Areas (existing and proposed) 5. Public Water Service Areas (existing and proposed) Berks County Sites and Infrastructure Strategy Source: BCPC, RTP Sites and Infrastructure Committee
- 22. Source: BCPC Sites and Infrastructure Web Map Tool
- 23. Ride To Prosperity Sites and Infrastructure Committee Web Map Tool Source: BCPC
- 24. Ride To Prosperity Sites and Infrastructure Committee Web Map Tool Source: BCPC
- 25. Ride To Prosperity Sites and Infrastructure Committee Web Map Tool Source: BCPC
- 26. Ride To Prosperity Sites and Infrastructure Committee Web Map Tool Source: BCPC
- 27. Ride To Prosperity Sites and Infrastructure Committee Web Map Tool Source: BCPC
- 28. Transportation and Future Land Use Maps
- 32. What Do We Do With All The Data?
- 33. • Need to ID additional commercial & industrial zoned land • Update zoning to accommodate current market needs • No inventory + no developable sites = no new companies locating in Berks County or in your community & existing companies cannot expand @GreaterReading Zoning
- 34. Incentives… “Incentives can make a good location great, but not a bad location good”
- 35. • The permitting process is difficult to navigate – even on a good day. • Why is it important? • Added cost • Uncertainty • Time • Ability to get financing Permitting
- 36. • Why is it an important tool? • What does it mean to our bottom line? • Abating taxes on the new assessment • You continue to receive taxes on the current assessed value LERTA
- 37. If you are interested in: • Attracting new business to your community • Helping existing businesses to expand in your community • Identifying land for business development in your community • Providing job opportunities for your residents in your community • Stabilizing the tax base in your community How We Can Work Together
- 38. Download the presentation + more information visit: bit.ly/BerksMuni Pamela Shupp, GREP 610.376.4237 Pamela@GreaterReading.com
Editor's Notes
- Increased Role of Municipalities The role of municipalities in the attraction and retention of companies continues to evolve with increasing importance. Because of this, the Economic Partnership has made it a priority to partner with Berks municipalities and develop economic development strategies to grow and retain commercial and industrial development in their communities. Removing potential stumbling blocks including streamlining the permitting process will continue to be critical in a municipalities’ ability to attract and retain commercial and industrial users. Growth in Manufacturing and Logistics/Distribution Industries Manufacturing has a long history in Berks County. While the industry has evolved, the region continues to be a natural fit. In 2015 over 60% of the inquiries for a Berks location or expansion were in the manufacturing sector. In addition, Berks County has maintained the highest percent – 20 percent – of jobs in manufacturing versus 12 percent for surrounding regions. The transportation corridors in Berks County lend themselves to the logistics and distribution industry, specifically in the northern and southern communities of the county. These industries will continue to come to Berks County organically based on location and market access, and potential workforce Workforce Availability Focus New and expanding companies are required to continue focusing on general labor availability in the region. Business and education leaders have worked over the last three years to identify the specific skills gap to ensure that we are matching companies’ needs to the available workforce. In addition to focusing on the skilled jobs, there has been an increasing demand for an unskilled or semi-skilled workforce – due to increased levels of labor unavailability. This has and will continue to result in s wage pressure across the region. Moving forward, it will be critical for the region to identify a broad labor pipeline - where labor will come from; how far they are willing to commute, and what are the specific skill requirements. Increase in International Leads Over the last three years the number of international leads has continued to increase in the region. The state of Pennsylvania has an incredibly proactive international team and global network working to cultivate leads and provides an outstanding support system. Berks County is well positioned to accommodate companies looking for a mid-Atlantic location with a close proximity to international airports and large metro markets, but at a much lower cost. Filling the Site and Infrastructure Pipeline Critical Lack of inventory is resulting in missed opportunities for Berks County. Adding depth to the regions’ ready-to-go site inventory is and will continue to be critical for Berks County’s ability to grow its commercial and industrial base. The Lack of appropriate and desirable inventory will result in missed economic growth opportunities for Berks County. So we need a coordinated and strategic effort from our community to ensure that the inventory pipeline for the future is secure. And most importantly, we cannot do that without municipal partners.
- NEED SOURCE
- Chosen Analysis: Weighted Overlay Overlays several types of factors using a common measurement scale and weights each according to its importance. Most popular approach to solving multi-criteria problems such as site selection and suitability modeling in GIS.
- #1 Zoning – do you want to see commercial and industrial development in your community? If you zone it they will come. If you don’t, they probably won’t.
- Incentives have always been and will continue to be HOTLY debated. No amount of tax incentives, grants or loans will make our communities or Pennsylvania competitive with southern states and we may not be competing with some other state neighbors – specifically New York and New Jersey. You may be philosophically opposed to them, but the reality of it is they are out there and they are being used.
- Remember, while a company is looking to locate a new facility or to expand their facility, they are still running a business. It is not about cutting corners and ending up with projects that violate established ordinances. It is about a clear and consistently applied permit review process that is of benefit to everyone. Permit applications that are analyzed and considered more efficiently and effectively afford a reasonable degree of comfort and certainty that the timing and expenses associated with the permitting processes will be more predictable.
- It’s not about giving a tax break and not making companies pay their fair share. It IS about the taxes that you won’t receive if a project doesn’t get built. How do we use this tool to get the best project possible for Berks County?
- Contact us, we are here to help! Set up a time to meet with us to talk about customizing a strategy for your community.