In his first state of the county address last night, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said his government is poised to support entrepreneurs who could breathe life into the region's economy. But he said too many people in the Cleveland area are unemployed or live in poverty.
ideastream's Nick Castele reports the speech focused on generating businesses and improving the social welfare safety net.
"It's stunning to me that in 2015, we still permit the accident of birth, those factors beyond our control, like who our parents are, their ZIP code or the color of our skin, to be predictors of the future," Budish said. "Whether our babies will live to see their first birthdays."
And he said people in need of healthcare, childcare or other aid face a tangle of county case workers and offices that are hard to navigate. While he didn't lay out a specific solution, he said his administration would work to eliminate barriers between assistance programs, and would link them with job training.
"It's hard to be the best employee on the job, when on the home front you don't have access to affordable quality child care, and medical care for your kids and access to transportation," he said.
Budish lately has said the county is reaching its limit for taking out debt to fund major projects, after building a convention center and starting to erect a hotel. But a redesign of MetroHealth Medical Center is on the horizon, as are renovations—or more—to the county justice center.
And so Budish outlined business development plans he said wouldn't burn a hole in the county's wallet. For budding entrepreneurs who need a place to tinker, for instance, Budish said he'd create what he called "innovation centers" in county libraries.
"If you have an idea for a business, come to the library," he said. "You'll be able to work on a high-speed internet connection, with helpful equipment like a 3D printer."
He said the program would start with libraries in Garfield Heights, Mayfield Village and Parma.
And Budish pledged to start new business loan programs. He said he'd put $2 million, plus private money, toward a program for minority- and women-owned companies. And he said he was asking for proposals to attract $15 million in loans for startups.
"To grow, they need startup and early stage money," Budish said. "They need better access to capital from local sources. Capital is readily available on the coasts, not so much here or in the Midwest."
Most Republican members of county council didn't offer much criticism of this speech by the new Democratic executive, saying only he could have said more manufacturing and questioning a particulars of his business proposal. In fact, they said they'd work alongside Budish to boost job development in the county.
