TO: The Office of the Governor and Dauphin, Perry & Cumberland State Delegations
FROM: Dave Black, President & CEO
Melissa Stone, Vice President of Economic Development
Taylour Trostle, Government Relations Director
DATE: October 1, 2020
As a member of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) and a catalyst for economic development within the greater region of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry Counties, we ask you to remember during upcoming state budget discussions that economic development funding for The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) will help the Commonwealth’s economy to rebound from the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19.
As a Certified Economic Development Corporation, programs and resources funded by the state budget allow us to directly assist and help the region’s business community, help us to operate and pay dividends in the form of jobs and tax revenue for the Commonwealth.
We specifically ask:
- • A portion of unallocated federal CARES Act Funding and/or new federal funds be utilized for economic development programming.
- • If feasible, economic development programs, both those tapped for emergency business relief and others that support business services receive an increase in funding for the 7-month budget if possible. We are obviously adamantly opposed to efforts to cut any funding to economic development. PEDA members rely on several important economic development programs within the annual state budget, such as PREP, PA Industrial Development Authority, Minority Business Development Authority, Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, SBDCs and the PA Infrastructure Bank funds.
Certified Economic Development Organizations (CEDOs), most being private not-for-profit Economic Development Corporations (EDCs), span across every legislative district, county and community within the Commonwealth. We have the experience and expertise required to help our economy recover from COVID-19, but we need the tools provided in the budget through DCED.
We have worked tirelessly for our business community including assisting businesses in the initial COVID-19 Working Capital Access (CWCA) Program to federal CARES Act funding and directing them to PPP funding.
Investing funds in economic development results in a return on every tax dollar, as demonstrated in the linked EDC Impact Study.
We appreciate the difficult task before you, but ask you to remember the resources to rebuild and build businesses as these are critical for Pennsylvania’s future. Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.
