County Executive to Launch ‘New Castle County 2025,’ First-Ever Comprehensive Economic Development Plan
County Executive Tom Gordon has ordered the first-ever comprehensive economic development plan for New Castle County, which comprises nearly three-quarters of the State’s economic activity. Once completed, the "New Castle County 2025 Economic Development Plan" will be a blueprint for economic growth and sustainability in the First County of the First State.“Delaware is ranked second to last in GDP growth, home price appreciation, and wage growth. According to Moody’s, one of the three major credit rating agencies, we're the only state in the union at risk of falling back into the recession,” County Executive Gordon said. “Now is not the time for blind optimism but, rather, for realistic self-assessment and comprehensive planning.”
Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi, who managed nearly a quarter billion dollars throughout his private sector career, will work with Economic Development & Policy Director Marcus Henry to launch focus group meetings with leaders from business, labor, and academia, as well as other governmental entities and civic organizations.
“There's an old saying, ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’,” Grimaldi said. “We can’t have a serious conversation about sustainable economic growth without a clear strategy to accomplish established goals. The County Executive’s plan will be the first in the County and in the State.”
The County Executive’s Economic Development Plan would have four components:
· A rigorous self-assessment to determine the competitive strengths of northern Delaware and build upon them
· Identification of the growth industries of the future, taking into account the demographic and technological shifts which are likely to define the next decade
· Devise a plan to attract and retain growth-sector businesses and rejuvenate the entrepreneurial spirit of New Castle County
· Develop realistic timelines with quantifiable measures of progress
“We need to create an entrepreneurial environment where new ideas can be met by early stage investors and grow into successful businesses,” Gordon said. “When companies are born here, they tend to stay here.”
The state's unemployment rate stayed above 7 percent and continues to match the national rate. Delaware had traditionally enjoyed a lower unemployment rate than the nation as a whole. At the same time, employment has increased, although the state has yet to catch up from steep job losses in 2009 as Delaware saw the end of its auto industry.
Supporting Continued Job Growth in the First State
(Wilmington, DE) In his weekly message, Governor Markell focuses on the State’s ongoing efforts to put Delawareans back to work and promotes the town hall events being held throughout the state.
“I’m holding a series of town hall meetings to address our economic efforts, which include educating a quality workforce, making business costs affordable and having a high quality of life in our state,” said Governor Markell. “We continue to work through one of the most challenging economic periods in our history and we will never be satisfied as long as Delawareans are out of work, but job growth here is outpacing the nation and we have reasons to be optimistic about the future.”
We continue to work through one of the most challenging economic periods in our history and we will never be satisfied as long as Delawareans are out of work. But job growth here is outpacing the nation and we have reasons to be optimistic about our future. This week in Seaford we cut the ribbon on a new plant for Grayling Industries, owned by ILC Dover, the Frederica-based business known for manufacturing spacesuits for NASA and protection equipment for our troops. They are moving 115 quality jobs from Mexico to our state. In a global economy, ILC Dover and Grayling Industries had many choices of where to expand, and it chose to ship all 85 pieces of its production lines more than two thousand miles to Sussex County. Our Economic Development Office provided some financial assistance with the new facility, but grants like that are just one piece of our plan to attract the jobs we want, like the high tech positions at GE Aviation in Newark, the hundreds of jobs planned at a poultry plant in Millsboro or the thousands being created in our financial sector. I’m holding a series of town hall meetings to address our economic efforts, which include educating a quality workforce, making business costs affordable and having a high quality of life in our state. I’m also hosting these events to hear your input and I hope you’ll join me at an upcoming town hall. You can find information at Delaware dot gov. As analysts from the Federal Reserve have noted, our state is well positioned for decades of economic growth ahead. With a comprehensive plan that allows us to respond to job creators’ needs, we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.
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