A Columbian article this week could serve as a primer for cities. Elmer’s Restaurants Inc. is moving its Portland office to Vancouver, and the reasons for the move are a checklist for how to attract business:
- Most of the employees live in Clark County, and moving the office will allow them to reduce commute time and avoid Oregon’s income tax.
- Vancouver’s new waterfront is a draw.
- Crime and homelessness are not as rampant in Vancouver as in Portland. “I think Vancouver does a better job with the homeless,” the company president said, as reported by The Columbian.
In the grand scheme of things, the move is relatively small; Elmer’s reportedly has 14 employees who will be moving to an office in downtown Vancouver. But it follows a series of similar moves by other corporate offices in recent years.
Banfield Pet Hospital built a new corporate headquarters in east Vancouver and moved about 600 employees to the city. Integra, a telecom company now under the Allstream brand, relocated to the former Hewlett-Packard site off 164th Avenue. Albina Fuel, which had roots in Portland dating to 1903, moved to Main Street in Vancouver. Northwest Pipe Company moved to a site off Mill Plain Boulevard.
The list goes on, demonstrating the attractiveness of this side of the river. It also demonstrates the ways in which a strong local economy can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
As noted by executives for Elmer’s, Washington’s tax structure can be a boon for corporations seeking to hire and retain employees. With no state income tax, Clark County is attractive to workers looking to avoid Oregon’s individual income tax, which can be as high as 9.9 percent. That should not absolve legislators from reshaping Washington’s regressive tax structure; but it is something that local businesses can use to their advantage.
Mobility and easy commutes also are important to workers.
As also noted by Elmer’s officials, The Waterfront Vancouver reflects crucial investment in amenities that draw corporate offices and employees to a region. Companies are increasingly interested in workers’ quality of life, understanding that being in a desirable community will help them attract employees.
Those quality-of-life issues extend to crime and homelessness throughout a region. Such factors often are not explicitly expressed in a company’s decision to move, but they inevitably play a role in that decision and call for attention from local elected leaders.
As the website of Grant Thornton International, a global accounting and consulting firm, states: “Every city official knows that if you’re not running a global capital, you’re going to have to work twice as hard to attract business investment. . . . Most city officials are looking for an epiphany that will bring investment flooding in but in reality, workers and businesses simply want to go somewhere that feels relevant and vibrant.”
Municipalities long have focused on tax breaks as the primary avenue for attracting companies. But the small businesses that form the backbone of a local economy are equally concerned with simplified regulations and amenities for employees. As Fraser Institute, an economic think tank, writes: “These moves may not be as politically attractive as public grandstanding, but in the long run, they attract business investment and jobs.”
Vancouver has taken a productive approach to creating economic vitality. Having a vibrant city only adds to the appeal.
