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Jobs are not getting respect in Lodi


Wednesday, August 6, 2008 5:53 AM PDT

Comments (28 comment(s))

Our city's financial future is coming down to one four-letter word: jobs.

There are three revenue streams currently keeping our city "financially healthy." These funding sources pay for the police and fire departments and fund the Public Works Department that keeps the city running efficiently and looking attractive. Two of the three of these "life-giving" revenue streams are property tax and sales tax.

Both of these income streams are showing signs of withering under a slowing economy aggravated by the state deficit. These streams are by choice "shallow" in Lodi due to a slow-growth orientation and Lodi being flat-out discouraging toward retail. Let me explain what I mean.

1. Shallow by choice. We are a decided 2 percent growth-cap community. No other city in our region is slow growth by choice. Most of our neighboring communities might even be called fast growth communities. That means more dollars (deeper stream) in their collected property and sales tax. Our neighbors have more dollars to pay fire and police and fill potholes in their cities than our slow-growth city. (Note: The Lodi Chamber of Commerce has no problem with Lodi growing at 2 percent ... or even 1 percent. Through the real estate boom of 2004-2006, Lodi grew at a .33 percent. That's one-third of one percent. If that was boom times what do you think our growth rate is now?)

2. Discouraging retail. Before Lowe's opened, the developer had to go buy farmland and fight legal battles to build within the city limits on land zoned for large retail. In 2004, Measure R saw Wal-Mart spend $400,000 dollars for the right to build a bigger store. The people said "build it" by a 60 to 40 percent margin but only to see it stopped by litigation. The project has now been tied up for almost four years with one entanglement after another. Lodi is hard on new retail. Consumers prefer the large format stores, they vote for them with their dollars and almost all of the ballot boxes are out of town. Lodi's sales tax revenue is down and will drop more as dollars are sucked out of town by new retail offerings Lodi does not have and cannot attract but are found in neighboring cities.

Think of shrinking property and sales tax being two shortened legs of a three-legged stool. The third leg is jobs. When people are employed they have revenue, which they spend and that generates property and sales tax revenue. Business owners, and their businesses create jobs and most always pay larger tax bills and utility bills than a home owner does. Jobs, especially new ones, make commerce and the economics of a city work. Without new jobs being created, the community becomes economically deficient and quality of life begins to diminish, consumer choices dwindle, sales tax shrinks, people lose jobs and move elsewhere to find work, it is an ugly downward spiral. The chamber has said many times, there is no such thing as "no growth" a city, business, or any living thing is either growing or its dying, nothing stays the same. Shouldn't we be chasing after jobs, especially in a slowing economy and a changing world? Absolutely! Less dependency on state funding is a good thing, more so in the future we would wager.

There are three "sketch alternatives" developed by the city of Lodi's General Plan consultants. All three plans in this chamber's minds eye do not respect the need for future jobs in our community. The world's development community, some of the largest developers in the Bay Area have testified before the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors that the San Joaquin Valley, particularly our county is on the "world's global development stage." Code words for, "Hey, jobs are coming." You mean people in Korea and China may build an office or plant here?

Why don't our highly paid consultants show zoning ideas that reflect our changing corner of the world and these job-growth predictions? All three of the sketch plans are very sparse on the zoning needed to keep our city financially viable from a jobs perspective.

Lodi is currently a city that has no marketing staff or dollars to attract new business, not even an inventory of vacant land at which a relocating business may look. Lodi is out of the "jobs business!" We offer no incentives as well, many cities bend over backwards to attract new jobs to their community. Why doesn't Lodi offer incentives to existing business for new job growth? Some 75 percent of all new jobs in a city come from existing businesses. Give jobs some respect please, they may be the only revenue stream to keep us afloat!

Pat Patrick is the CEO and president of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

Reader Feedback

educated reader wrote on Aug 12, 2008 11:08 PM:

" Poor Giovanina - if the Chamber is for amnesty for illegals and "they" all become legal, how can we rip them off by paying slave wages? If you were really thinking, you would have said the Chamber would want to maintain the status quo.

Personally, I think that all illegals should be rounded up and sent back where they came from (All must be from Mexico, according to Gio - this also makes the cost to transport them a lot cheaper since it's so close). Then there will be a huge amount of job openings for which Gio and her jobless friends can apply. Factor in the resulting higher cost of producing goods and we will all have Gio and her friends to thank for higher prices at the grocery store and beyond. But at least THEY will have those minimum wage jobs to keep them afloat. "

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edumacation wrote on Aug 12, 2008 3:39 PM:

" Hello Giovanina post 8:44pm. You are not speaking metaphorically. There are businesses in the area who have seasonal labor as well as year round labor. If you look at the personnel books they are supposed to have, all you see are independent labor contractors. What about the daily work by field workers. Many get paid not with cash but with "free groceries" that are written off, "free rent", free use of an old car or truck. The laborer thinks he is winning because he has daily living expenses that are handled by "El jefe del numero uno" or "jefe del granerjo". This is illegal under federal state and local laws. You know it, we all know it. Where are the labor and tax investigators? Many are using illegal labor that is getting a "free ride" but they are in fact indentured laborers to their "bosses". Just because you hire "subcontract" crews does not mean you don't have to ensure that the law is obeyed. If "el pez gordo" gets caught, the farmer will get blamed. "

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Observer wrote on Aug 12, 2008 10:26 AM:

" Patton1, I think you are being way too generous. You should have listed it at 100%. "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 12, 2008 9:32 AM:

" If you truly think that city money pays to have GOB's given spa treatments the you are more stupid then the 99% of people think you are already. "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 12, 2008 9:30 AM:

" The only person who could expense meals like this would be the city manager.You do realize that these people are at will employees would would risk their pensions if it were found out that they were using public funds for private meetings? "

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T&C wrote on Aug 11, 2008 9:15 PM:

" Some of you city fatcats look like you've been fed well at the good ol' boys eateries and spas. Are you telling me that the city doesn't foot any of these meals, motels and spa services at all? I'd like to see every receipt for every meal, room and spa receipt that goes through the city coffers. Or do they just stamp them miscellaneous? Every city uses this same tactic for personal perks and to wine and dine those invited to the city for business purposes. I guess every city but Lodi, it's still only a little town, huh? "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 11, 2008 10:02 AM:

" Rosewood gets subsudized by the city of Lodi? Huh? Seriuosly, T & C should be banned for acusing some many of so much with nothing to back it up. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 10, 2008 3:03 PM:

" Nor does Mr. Patrick help bring anything but relocates to Lodi from Stockton. They come here for his cheap labor pool. And city council gives plenty of incentives. Look at Rosewood and all that was, and still is, being given to them to continue staying in their present location. Where else does city of Lodi urge their city credit card expense account holders to take themselves and their business associates and customers? Oh, I forgot, the Wine and Roses for meals and weekend stays and spa treatments. And it's good to see Mr. Patrick drumming up business for us in China, too. "

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Observer wrote on Aug 10, 2008 8:10 AM:

" T&C, you give the C of C way too much credit. They don't set wage standards or determine which businesses come or leave Lodi. Can you imagine Mr. Patrick walking up to your business and demanding you pay your employees $5.00 more per hour. Mr. Patrick doesn't zone properties either. That's up to your local leaders who need to be more business friendly. "

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Gator wrote on Aug 9, 2008 3:44 PM:

" Question?? why is anyone working of 8.00 an hour? The same goes for
minimum wage jobs, which were never intended to be life long jobs.
you need drive, ambition and desire to the max then you will find work
that will pay a decent wage and benefits, it wont come looking for you,
that is your job. And once you have it then its up to you to keep it. If
You have a better than average Education and good people skills, dont
dress like a slob you have an excellent chance. Physical labor is a horse
of a different color, The harder the job the better the pay, and here is where
most people screw up. The work hard for a few months and then they think
they have it made and coast a little ,then there late for work or sick one
to many times, your gone!!! We used to figure 10 hires for one good hand
So 9 got fired, bloody waste of time!! You want work, Boart Longyear
Drilling services, World wide. 775 753 7772 "

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T&C wrote on Aug 9, 2008 9:16 AM:

" GIO, to the chamber $8 an hour jobs are plentiful and they have their own little east side work force promised to those businesses who locate here. Mr. Patrick assures them of that. "

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Cogito wrote on Aug 8, 2008 10:57 PM:

" The overwhelming majority of good paying jobs in Lodi are government jobs. Other than that, you need to work for yourself. "

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Giovanina wrote on Aug 8, 2008 8:44 PM:

" One of the main platforms for the CofC is amnesty for illegals. They love the slave labor. "

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Scrutiny wrote on Aug 7, 2008 5:15 PM:

" Observer; so your saying that the Lodi CC has ANYTHING to do with average incomes, levels of education,% of homeowners, rate of unemployment etc., etc.. I defy you to name a list of proposed developments that the CC has voted down. From what I can see, the CC is pro-growth, just the economy sucks, guess that`s the CC`s fault? What exactly would you propose the CC do? "

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ccinlodi wrote on Aug 6, 2008 5:32 PM:

" Re:4Astronglodi 4:44 remarks - I too am mystified, why does cityhall and the city council think low paying retail jobs will be of benefit to Lodi? It is short-sighted thinking to be focused on short term sales tax revenues and not the needs of the citizenry 3 to 5 generations out? Long term thinking is growth, short term is a zoning nightmare.
And realistically, no citizen group can stop growth; it is left in the hands of a professional city managment team which reports to an elected city council. From what I have seen , there has been public outcry regarding certain projects, but that didn't stop the projects from happening. The redevelopment project is a great idea - now before you posters start decrying 'eminent domain' there is always the possibility for people in a redevelopment area to qualify for low interest loans to improve their business and if they don't want to invest that effort into their business then maybe it is time for someone else to buy them out at a depreciated value and put forth the effort to improve. "

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4AStrongLodi wrote on Aug 6, 2008 4:44 PM:

" Thanks for fighting the good fight Pat!

This is simple economics. Sadly, I think there are to many uneducated people in town who don't understand why things are they way they are. Their intentions are good, but misdirected.

Our City does nothing to promote job growth, so all we attract is minimum wage jobs, which unfortunately also brings lower property values and little economic support for the City.

People like myself commute out of the area to live in Lodi. I could never afford to live in Lodi if I actually worked here...unless I was in an apartment on the East Side.

Simply, there's no opportunity for small businesses and job growth, so the City will continue to progress into a crime-ridden, low-income community. "

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Neo wrote on Aug 6, 2008 12:52 PM:

" Pat is obviously one of the biggest Wal-Mart cheerleaders in the county. A friend told me he was born and raised near Bentonville, Arkansas. The home of Wal-Mart. Connecting the dots may be a good story for the Sentinel to cover! "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 6, 2008 12:46 PM:

" Lodi has to be aggressive in atracting new empoyers and the cities "grab it now" doesnt help. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 6, 2008 12:16 PM:

" And, by the way, patton1, I thought I just read yesterday that 40-50 of Lodians work in Stockton and 20% in Sacramento. Why would that be? I'll find those stats. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 6, 2008 12:14 PM:

" patton1, are you referring to jobs like those Stockton relocated plastics plants here that are always looking for DEPENDABLE employees at $8 an hour and advertise in Stockton papers through an employment agency rather than Lodi's papers? Remember the Sentinel article a while back, where these same type companies claimed they couldn't get dependable employees? Or ones who could pass an alcohol, drug test or background screening? There are a dozen or so of these larger employers with these $8hour jobs and that's why they can't keep help. They are forced to hire unqualified people because word gets around that they're suck places to work with no chance for advancement, wage increases and no benefits. You know Mr. Patrick, so why don't either you or he just give us an example of just one business that has people beating its door down to gain that valuable employment prize of $8hour? Please, just one, patton1? Do you really think other prospective employers don't check Lodi's employment environment, labor pool available, subsidies from the city, and the cost of living and rents for the wage of the jobs they're offering? Rents and utilities are too high to attract even mediocre paying jobs. "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:44 AM:

" When good employers are selecting a sight, Lodi is in competition with our cities. We have to be competitive. If we offer incentives then that is a good investment. I would call it a subsidy. When we have a lack luster business environement causes a short fall of tax, sales and property taxes. The citizens must then pay higher taxes to offset those lack of funds. I say lets start attracting business to Lodi instead of treating them like we are doing them a favor. "

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patton1 wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:39 AM:

" I suggest than those of you who think that the chamberhasnt done enough to help our business climate in Lodi should give Mr. Patrick a call. I think your would be inlightened by the countless examples of good paying jobs go other places due to the anti growth anti jobs environement. If the people ever found out how businesses were scared off by our staff, there would be an uproar. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 6, 2008 10:36 AM:

" Does anyone agree with me that it was a comedy of errors when we had both Mr. Patrick from the chamber and Mr. Easterling from the DLBP both sputtering and spinning at one another to see who the big mamoo would be downtown? Then came the questionable $17,000 debacle with Lodi beer and suddenly Mr. Easterling was being quizzed at council meetings by Ms. Mounce and really never did come up with any kind of valid explanation and eventually it was swept under the carpet by certain council persons and Mr. Easterling was allowed to "resign" rather than face the music. These are the kinds of games played by certain members of council and those who work for and try to control both the chamber and DLBP. And, observer, you're partially correct, but we Lodi taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize any more jobs than we already are. Walmart, GeneralMills, CottageBakery, LodiIron, plastics plants are a few of the jobs we pay to keep here in Lodi and if I'm subsidizing all these jobs, how come many of them are low paying? You give them land, leases, utility breaks, employee subsidies and then other companies expect that and more. "

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T&C wrote on Aug 6, 2008 10:23 AM:

" Ahhhh... you left yourself gullible on this one Mr. Patrick. Explain just how many $8an hour jobs you and the chamber have brought to Lodi? You seem to find your time more important organizing trips to China for yourself and the good ol' boys and girls than really working to bring decent paying jobs to Lodi. Who cares about selling Lodi wines in China? Let's physically brings these jobs here. If the chambers across the US weren't so anti-union and cheap labor oriented, these issues would be possible. Mr. Patrick, you are just another one of those old soldiers and it's time to turn the reins over to the young generation who understand the problems of today and aren't swayed by the gob's every move they make. You are one of those people and with all the connections and influence you supposedly have, nothing at all is happening under your so-called leadership. ccinlodi is right, we need a full time mayor and that should Madam Mayor Mounce, who's very open minded and for the citizenry and not controlled nor owned by the good-ol'-boys like the other 4 councilteers. Wow, let's annex more land to build more houses on, too! ROFLMAO "

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ccinlodi wrote on Aug 6, 2008 10:06 AM:

" ahhh, a subject dear to my heart -community planning and development. BTW - is that CDD position still unfilled? anyway - I think Lodi needs to annex a lot of county land and promote building in areas that will be more conducive to the additional infrastructure development needs. That is - not just willy nilly where-ever some developer used to farm and now wants to sell..also, we need a community development director that can operate independently of the city manager and report directly to the City Council - or maybe, we need a fulltime mayor? "

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Giovanina wrote on Aug 6, 2008 6:54 AM:

" Well the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants people to spend money buying products but they also want to ship all those good jobs overseas, and then have the illegals and H-b visas take the rest of the jobs here. They can't have it both ways. Americans have less money to spend.

Lodi was turning in a bedroom community of the Bay area and Sacramento, more due to urban areas being flooded with immigrants and high crime, and in California there are a lot of illegals that use up tax money..

The housing downturn and the price of gas has turned a lot of that away. Plus people are seeing San Joaquin County starting to turn into another Los Angeles which is not very pleasing to many. Many people that would spend money are leaving the state, and it's poorer quality of living...bad education, high crime, no jobs, illegal aliens, etc. "

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Observer wrote on Aug 6, 2008 6:22 AM:

" Scutiny, these retailers don't make their decisions based on presentations made by the Chamber of Commerce. They want to know about average incomes, levels of education, % of homeowners vs rentals, rate of unemployment/job opportunities etc, etc, etc. Existing successful businesses attract other successful businesses. Most cities bend over backwards to accommodate business. The long term gains are overwhelming in terms of sales tax, property tax, state and federal income tax. Pat is right, the City needs to provide more incentives for business to locate in Lodi. It would be well worth the investment. "

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Scrutiny wrote on Aug 6, 2008 6:13 AM:

" Why ain`t those retailers signing up for Reynolds Ranch Pat? Lots of retail space there and no takers as of yet! Go get Costco! Go get Home Depot! Go get Beds, baths and Beyond! What are you waiting for! Do your job! "

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