Boise will be easy to sell, recruiter says

Article published Aug 8, 2006
Ken Dey @ The Idaho Stateman
Boise will be easy to sell, recruiter says
New executive director brings almost 20 years experience in California with him

Paul Hiller, 64, is no stranger to economic development. For nearly 20 years he has recruited companies to California. He spent a decade working at the California Department of Commerce and most recently was president and chief executive officer of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership in Riverside, Calif.

In the two years he led that partnership, Hiller helped create more than 1,500 jobs in the Riverside area by bringing in everything from corporate headquarters to advanced manufacturing facilities. Now he brings that experience to Boise to help expand the area's economy by attracting companies to create high-paying jobs.

Last week Hiller was named executive director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership. The partnership was started by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. The chamber solicited donations from hundreds of businesses and has collected $5 million to recruit companies to the area. Hiller's goal is to bring in new jobs that pay at least $40,000 a year.
Hiller, who will start in October, recently sat down to talk about Boise and the surrounding area, and his plans for the partnership.
How hard will it be to sell the Boise area to companies looking to expand?
I don't think it will be a hard sell at all. I really believe this is a great product and compared to the product I currently sell, there is absolutely no comparison. The Inland Empire of Southern California has some real issues, but Boise has everything that an economic development person dreams about. The vibrant, high-rise Downtown area, the major corporations that are already here, the modern airport, a great work force and great universities and colleges. You couldn't ask for a better product. And the irony is that it's the best-kept secret in the Western states. But as I've been telling everybody, that's about to change.
What kinds of industries and companies will you be targeting for expansion?
What we're going to see are corporate headquarters, regional offices and technology-driven companies compatible with tech firms that are here already. We're going to see advanced manufacturing in areas like medical devices and pharmaceuticals. We want to see $40,000-a-year blue collar jobs and $75,000-a-year white collar jobs. We want to shape our growth in a well-planned and orderly manner that brings the kind of jobs we want that will lead to a better standard of living for people in the area.
Boise has been recognized with national rankings in magazines like Forbes. Hasn't that helped raise the awareness of the area?
I don't think it has had that much of an impact. I have talked to a lot of executives in California, and I have asked them what they think of when they think of Boise, and I can't get a response. They're not sure what's here. We have to raise the level of awareness about the area, and we're planning an aggressive public-relations campaign to do that. We will bring in a major public-relations firm, most likely New York-based, to develop an aggressive program to pitch stories to business writers all over the U.S. We will also personally sell the state with business-attraction missions that will get us in front of prospect companies and site-search consultants throughout the U.S.
The Boise area has a very low unemployment rate, and that can make it difficult to recruit companies, because there is a fear they won't be able to find a work force. Is that a factor that concerns you?
It is a factor to consider, and it can be a challenging factor, if there was no population growth in the region. But if you look at Boise's population growth, it's one of the fastest in the U.S. Workers are pouring into this Valley, and that makes a big difference in terms of companies trying to find the kinds of workers and numbers of workers they're looking for.
How will you work with other economic development organizations?
We want to work cooperatively with the state and other regions. But more important to us are the cities and counties in our region. They need to be actively participating in this and have a voice. We're not looking to compete directly with other regions in Idaho, and we're not looking to compete directly with anyone in particular. There's a big market out there, and we intend to get our fair share of it. Our direct competition will be coming more from other states with very aggressive programs.
Historically, Idaho hasn't been able to provide the type of incentives other states offer to attract companies. Does that put us at a disadvantage?
I think incentives are probably the most overrated part of economic development. I have never had incentives to work with, and we've had phenomenal success without incentives. Incentives are necessary when you're dealing with companies that are so cost-conscious that they're probably not paying the wages we're interested in.
There's been an ongoing effort to open a community college in the area. How important is that for your recruiting efforts?
It would certainly be helpful to have a community college and be able to offer that for the kind of training programs companies need rather than baccalaureate programs, but it's not the key to success for us.
Are there any particular geographic areas you will be targeting?
We will be doing a national effort, but obviously we're going to be targeting California, which is the big state and has more companies, more business and more opportunities than anyone else does. I also expect to see a lot of companies that expand in this area coming from the Midwest and East Coast.
One of the attractions of this area is relatively low housing prices, short commutes and a smaller population, but as we grow there will be more pressure put on the area. How do we keep Boise from turning into the big cities you're recruiting from?
Because the population is growing, there will always be growth pressure. But it all boils down to land use and planning, and smart growth. It's carefully targeting the companies that will provide the wage levels we need and are compatible with growth plans and land use plans.