Dan Gilmartin Touts the Economic Power of Placemaking in Crain’s Detroit Business Column and Forum Series

The Michigan Municipal League is proud and excited to have a column by our CEO in Sunday’s Crain’s Detroit Business forum series that focuses on the economic power of placemaking. Some Crain’s articles and columns are only available through a subscription but we’re so excited about this we’ve included a copy of the column by League CEO and Executive Director Dan Gilmartin below.

There are also links below to additional articles in the series including this outstanding column by Delta Dental Chief Executive Officer Goran Jurkovic. Under the headline, “Goran Jurkovic: The case for corporate investments in placemaking,” Jurkovic writes about the value of placemaking in recruiting talent to Michigan from the business perspective. Click here for a blog we wrote about Jurkovic’s column as well.

The series of articles and columns in Sunday’s Crain’s are truly outstanding and illustrate the growing momentum and general discussion people from all sectors – business, private and government – are having about placemaking. Michigan cannot truly propser without strong vibrant communities that attract today’s talent and businesses. Dan Gilmartin writes and talks about this frequent in his aptly named Economics of Place blog found here and podcast of the same name found here.

Here is the column by Gilmartin posted in Sunday’s Crain’s Detroit Business under the headline: “Dan Gilmartin: Michigan’s future hinges on strong communities.” And we would be remiss if we did not give a huge shout-out to Crain’s reporter Chad Livengood for agreeing to print the column and for his focus on communities as economic drivers in Michigan in this month’s Forum series:

By Dan Gilmartin

“Businesses and communities agree on the need for a strong economy in Michigan, because we recognize our futures are inextricably linked together. You can’t have strong communities without strong businesses, and you can’t have strong businesses without strong communities.

Much recent conversation in Michigan centers on the need to invest in Michigan’s infrastructure. We fully agree about that need — but it can’t be just about pipes and roads. A community’s infrastructure is also the park we want our children to play in; the senior center that meets the needs of that growing population; walking, running and biking trails; the first responders who keep us safe; and the ambulance that gets us to care. A community’s infrastructure is the backbone of assets and services we expect as taxpayers.

Our Michigan business community is in a worldwide competition for talent and the talent goes to the best places. Simply put, places that have invested in their community infrastructure services are winning the global competition for talent, in the United States and around the world.

As the new Legislature and governor begin to chart a course for Michigan’s future, now is the time for new policies to open the door for our cities to invest in the infrastructure needed to attract the best and brightest — and by doing so, for our state to grow.

We have several suggestions and solutions for such critical investments in our shared futures:

• Our current fiscal policy does not allow the economic recovery the state has experienced to extend to its cities. Michigan’s funding structure for communities is built in such a way that it doesn’t allow a community’s revenue to grow when the economy grows. While the state’s economy has improved, cities aren’t sharing in that improvement. A priority should be to resolve conflicts between current state tax laws so that cities can appropriately track with the state’s economy and share in a prosperous economy.
• When we talk about making road improvements those discussions should also include investing in transit and all modes of transportation. It’s been said many times that metropolitan Detroit is the largest region in American without a working mass transit system. Today’s talent is drawn to communities with accessible mass transit systems.
• Conversations should also involve ways to provide economic incentives to bolster our existing infrastructure. Our current system focuses on new development and a more balanced system would also encourage use and redevelopment of existing infrastructure.
• Additional solutions must include providing local governments with more ways to fund infrastructure and core services to attract business and talent; and offering communities tools to responsibly manage legacy costs while providing appropriate benefit packages for the workforce.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and our new Legislature can be agents of change in this vital area by recognizing that investment in community infrastructure doesn’t just mean roads. It means better and smarter police and fire protection, improved sewer and water systems, better street lighting, vibrant parks, and all public transportation modes.

Communities want strong partners in the business community and in our Legislature to fix Michigan’s broken municipal finance model and free our cities to grow in ways that will bring prosperity to the entire state. Learn more at savemicity.org.

Dan Gilmartin is the CEO and executive director of the Michigan Municipal League.

Here are the headlines with links to all the articles in Forum Series:

Downtowns find they have the ‘cool’ factor

Commentary: A MEGA bargain for Michigan’s future

Dan Gilmartin: Michigan’s future hinges on strong communities

Russ Kavalhuna: Community college is right investment

Goran Jurkovic: The case for corporate investments in placemaking

Mat Ishbia: Why CEOs should spurn taxpayer incentives

Rob Cleveland: Give Michigan college graduates a ‘HUGE’ tax incentive