2022

Harrisburg Disparity Study

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The City of Harrisburg and Impact Harrisburg commissioned this disparity study, funded by the City and Impact as well as by Dauphin County and produced by a consulting team that consisted of Econsult Solutions, Inc., Milligan Consulting, LLC, and the Winston/Terrell Group (collectively “the ESI team”).

This disparity study had three main purposes:
1. To provide a baseline understanding of the City’s utilization of minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses, and other disadvantaged business categories, relative to their availability in the marketplace of vendors the City has to choose from when procuring various goods and services.
2. To substantiate any appropriate race- and gender-specific contract participation goals and programmatic remedies to guide the City’s efforts to ensure equitable access for diverse businesses to the economic opportunities represented by the goods and services the City procures.
3. To inform policy, programmatic, and analysis actions that the City can take going forward to improve its understanding of and performance in supplier diversity.

ESI looked at the roughly $150 million spent in City contracts from FY 2017 to FY 2021, and analyzed the data by county of business, contract type, and Diverse Business Enterprise (DIVBE) type. Following the analysis, the ESI team made recommendations to the City for utilization goals, as well as programmatic recommendations to help achieve them.

The City of Harrisburg’s economy is rebounding from the recent challenges, and new leadership in city government is navigating the contemporary landscape in ways that build from strength and address lingering areas of concern. Looking ahead, city leaders can set a course that will yield a regional economy that is both thriving and inclusive.

Taking Care of Business Program Assessment

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Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI), The Intersect, and Cameron Professional Services Group, provided an evaluation of the Taking Care of Business (TCB) Commercial Corridor Cleaning Program, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce. The effort led by ESI included constructing an approach for measuring the efficacy of TCB in achieving its goals, performing an initial synthesis of existing metrics, and additional guidance on the data collection and synthesis for ongoing evaluation, while evaluating the extent to which progress is being made towards TBC’s goals.

TCB has four main goals:

  1. Maintain clean commercial districts in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
  2. Promote the economic success of neighborhood businesses by creating an inviting environment for shoppers.
  3. Create work opportunities for Philadelphians.
  4. Grow the capacity of local small businesses and organizations that provide cleaning service.

The ESI-led team worked closely to evaluate TCB’s goals and the progress made toward achieving them. This included a litter index of neighborhoods showing conditions before and after program implementation, across time and geography.

In examining the employment goals of the program, ESI found:

  • There were 200 cleaning ambassadors employed with paid employment, job training, and can advance their earning potential and 142 Cleaning Ambassadors obtained the widely recognized OSHA-10 workplace safety credential.
  • TCB enabled Philadelphia-based, for-profit, minority-owned cleaning companies to grow their businesses, with City contracts among the four companies rising from $221,000 in 2020 to $1.74 million in 2021.
  • In a survey conducted about economic vitality, 91% of shoppers would visit commercial corridors more often if they were kept clean, while 88% of business owners said it is effective to keep commercial corridors clean.

Overall, this evaluation demonstrated how a public investment can help increase the capacity of small, locally-owned, diverse private cleaning firms to perform work that benefits communities while expanding employment opportunities that improve lives, and have a positive impact on the economies of neighborhood business districts.

The Economic Impact of Montana Film Production: An Analysis of the Industry and the MEDIA Act

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The production of feature films, television series, and commercials can generate significant economic activity for their host communities, drawing out-of-town spending, generating jobs, and supporting local businesses. Because of this potential boost to local economies, many states provide incentives to attract productions as an economic development initiative.

In 2019, the Montana State Legislature passed the Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement Act (MEDIA Act) to provide a transferable income tax incentive to attract film, television, and other media production to the State.

In 2020, the Montana Film Office retained Econsult Solutions to quantify the economic impact of film production in Montana and the Montana Economic Development Industry Advancement Act (MEDIA Act).

ESI’s initial report provided an analysis of the economic, fiscal, and societal impacts from film and television production in the state and specifically evaluated the impacts associated with the MEDIA Act Tax Credit Program. Impacts were evaluated for film, television, and other production activity over an 18-month period (January 2019–June 2020). Following the release of this first study, ESI was contracted to expand the data set through June of 2022. To do so, a survey of TV and filmmakers was conducted, the results of which helped to fine tune the impact analysis which was incorporated in an updated report to the Montana Film Office. The report and summary are key to their advocacy with stakeholders.

The State of North Broad 2023

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North Broad Renaissance is the business improvement district for one of Philadelphia’s most prominent corridors, anchoring adjacent neighborhoods, supporting businesses, and community mainstays.

To improve the quality of life, North Broad Renaissance has multifaceted goals for the revitalization of North Broad Street and adjoining neighborhoods. The organization fosters business development with an aim to provide employment opportunities while strategically encouraging economic growth. It focuses on driving growth of existing businesses, and attracting new businesses that complement the commerce and culture that exist on the corridor, serving the needs of residents and those who make the corridor a destination.

Econsult Solutions has provided economic strategy analysis to the organizations for several years going. Each year, North Broad Renaissance releases to the community a report that recaps the corridor’s successes, and sets objectives for the coming year that are supported by forecasts. ESI plays a role in this by providing data analyses on population, workforce, and land development trends.

2022 Year in Review

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2022 was a milestone year for ESI and we are thrilled to spotlight some of our work that was completed, as well as highlight our ongoing thought leadership efforts being built out of ESI Center for the Future of Cities. We look forward to continuing to provide the same level of excellence to our clients in the new year!

King of Prussia Business District Comparative Location Analysis

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Jurisdictions have long competed to be destinations of choice for employers and employees, based on tax mix, amenities, transportation infrastructure, and other location characteristics. At present, this competitive landscape seems particularly fluid and intense. Most notably, COVID has hollowed out commercial office cores, scrambled real estate markets, and increased people’s preferences for outdoor amenities and other wellness resources.

Meanwhile, economic uncertainty has forced a reckoning for jurisdictions in their relative tax burden positions. Lower tax burden jurisdictions are caught between heightened fiscal pressure if they maintain their low rates, and loss of competitive advantage if they raise rates. Higher tax burden jurisdictions, in turn, are finding that if they continue to raise rates, they cause mass outcry amongst residents and businesses, while if they rein in tax rates they stretch their already tight budgets.

In such a climate and at such a time, King of Prussia District is tasked with catalyzing economic development and job growth for UMT/KOP. This report helps substantiate where UMT/KOP holds a competitive advantage over neighboring jurisdictions as a destination of choice for employers and employees, and conversely where UMT/KOP fares more poorly relative to competing jurisdictions. The former can inform promotional efforts such as HQ KOP, while the latter can inform King of Prussia District’s discourse with local elected officials and business leaders.

ESI’s 2022 analysis of how Upper Merion Township/King of Prussia (UMT/KOP) compares as a business location relative to other nearby suburban jurisdictions represents an update to research conducted in 2017 and 2011, also commissioned by King of Prussia District. It covers relative tax burden and other locational characteristics, and enables both a comparison across jurisdictions, as well as a comparison across time.