Viewpoint

Viewpoint: SLO needs to see the reality of its economy

By Beth Marino

T he city of San Luis Obispo is facing some critical decisions about our economic future that may well determine whether our city remains the prosperous and livable community we cherish.

This information may come as a surprise for San Luis Obispo, where quality-of- life standards are held in esteem and economic downswings are diminished by our robust local public sector base. But lying just below the surface are factors for local businesses and government that when viewed collectively signal real problems ahead.

We are in the middle of our third year of near-zero job growth, the first time this has happened since the 1960s. With California’s regular billion-dollar deficits, we know now we can’t depend on constant job growth in state government. We’re facing much more aggressive competition for tourist dollars, even from cities in our own county. Light industry has declined here, as it has throughout most of coastal California. Many of our local farmers and ranchers are barely making ends meet. Even Cal Poly, our “secret weapon,” with its tremendous national reputation and popularity, is not immune to state budget cuts.

In short, our “economic engine” is losing power and needs an overhaul.

If we keep doing “business as usual,” we are likely to see undesirable consequences. Eventually the community’s population would consist primarily of wealthy retirees and low-paid service workers. Middle-class jobs and families would dwindle. Lowered school enrollment would diminish quality and limit educational opportunities. Less tax revenue would lead to a decline of city services. The lack of middle-class workers would make it difficult to hire enough nurses, medical technicians, police officers and firefighters, forcing costs to go up and increased commuting from distant cities.

There is very little a city can do in the short term to change economic trends. But in the long term, promoting a more proactive business environment and growth can help protect the special qualities of our community.

San Luis Obispo has never had much of a stomach for growth or economic development. What growth has taken place has been primarily in the public sector. We have had the benefit of an economic development program in the city, but it has focused primarily on the development of retail-and tourism-based business. While this type of business is important to our community, these industries are not known to bring well-paying, head-of-household jobs.

We are lucky to have an excellent economic development director, Claire Clark, but she is a one-person department with limited resources to promote our city’s benefits.

To provide adequate support to Ms. Clark, we must change the way we look at business and economic growth. Attracting and retaining clean, future-oriented businesses with well-paying jobs should become a priority for the city.

The Chamber of Commerce believes that setting this element as a long-term goal will result in preserving a solid, middle-class, family-oriented population and will ultimately protect our treasured community.

Ms. Clark will deliver an annual report to the City Council at 5 p. m. today on the progress of our city’s economic development program. We encourage residents to attend this meeting and make a clear statement for healthy growth and more resources for economic development.

Beth Marino is chairwoman of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.