In his fifth annual address, Supervisor Knabe called for more focus on supporting businesses, creating jobs and reforming programs. With the county’s caseloads for programs and services at an all-time high, he encouraged public-private partnerships to put people back to work.
“With the crunch on our resources and a near doubling of our caseloads since 2007, we must be even more diligent about where our money is spent,” Knabe said. “We may not be able to solve the world’s financial crisis, but we can get our own house in order.”
Citing examples of workforce training efforts between Cerritos and El Camino colleges and local auto dealerships, he said, “One of the most frustrating things I read about is seeing that companies have jobs they can’t fill because workers don’t have the knowledge they need. It’s important that we all play a role in building the skills of our local workforce. We have the largest automotive market in the country, and these programs are helping young people prepare for good careers, while meeting the workforce demands of our local businesses.”
Of the state of the economy, Knabe said that while there have been some improvements in the national economy, the unemployment rate remains high. “Last year, I reported to you a 12.6-percent unemployment rate in LA County,” he said. “As of October, it is 11.9 percent, which is better, but not good enough. In fact, many economists attribute some level of that improvement to people just giving up looking for a job.”
The county supervisor spoke briefly about the world’s financial crisis and said that, at the county level, the focus should be three-pronged: creating jobs, supporting businesses and reforming programs.
“Last year I told you about my 10,000 Jobs program. We were able to find a way to use some of the federal stimulus funding to get people back to work— in fact, a lot of people,” Knabe said. “We set a goal of 10,000 jobs, but in the end, we created 11,000 jobs for adults and 15,000 jobs for disadvantaged youth. It was one of the greatest uses of stimulus funding in the nation. For many local companies, this program was a desperately needed lifeline. The best news of all is that nearly 1,500 people landed full-time, permanent non-subsidized employment.”
Knabe provided a few examples of how to support local small businesses, which he said is important to him. He also said he is working on an ordinance to support a much bigger industry in the area— the film business.
“The entertainment industry is the third largest in LA County, just behind international trade and tourism, which is obviously hugely driven by the industry,” Knabe said. “Throughout the state, over half a million people rely on the entertainment industry for their livelihood. While we often think of the big studios, like Warner Brothers, Universal and Paramount, in fact more than 6,400 businesses service the film, television and commercial production industry. Unfortunately, we don’t always make it easy for the industry synonymous with our region to do business in its own back yard. Depending on where a company is filming, it can take them two days to 30 days to secure a permit. Business licenses can be a flat fee, or based on the number of employees or based on gross receipts. Permit fees can range from $625 to $4,200. In some areas, a company can film only on public property, and in others there is no filming on public property. I think you get where I’m going on this. We need to be more consistent and business-friendly across the region.”
On the topic of reform, Knabe began by discussing the county’s budget. “Again this year, the county passed a balanced budget without the severe cuts we are seeing at other levels of government,” he said. “We continue to maintain our infrastructure as best we can and remain committed to projects that are important in the communities we serve.”
He then talked about projects that are aimed at helping small business. “During these challenging times, when jobs are absolutely critical, we know that two out of three jobs in this county are created by small businesses,” he said.
Knabe discussed the burden of having recently released state prisoners re-entering the system and how people who have lost their jobs or homes are going to the county for the first time, desperate for help. “With the crunch on our resources and a near doubling of our caseload since 2007, we must be even more diligent about where our money is spent,” he said.
Knabe’s full speech is available online at knabe.com/issues/good-government.
