The Ponca City Development Authority (PCDA) reported that it has returned $25.45 in economic benefit for every sales tax dollar collected for economic development. The figure represents the organization’s work since it was formed in July of 2003 through June, 2021. According to David Myers, PCDA’s Executive Director, the return on investment is based upon actual results, not announcements.

“PCDA enters into job agreements with businesses and those agreements are the basis for calculating the return on investment,” Myers said. “When we use incentives, there is always an agreement that requires the company to report their actual job creation and wages paid. They provide us with copies of information they report to the state so what we use is official information.“

According to Myers, this approach provides a far more accurate assessment of whether or not the work is providing value to the community. “We’re a public trust and we take that very seriously,” he said. “We report the good and the bad. In the world of economic development , there are a lot of announcements that never really happen so actual job counts, not announcements are a much better picture.” He cited the Archein Aerospace project as one such announcement that did not materialize. “They had great plans and great people. Then COVID came along and it hit the aviation industry hard. Archein just couldn’t survive.” Economic development programs, he said, go way beyond industrial recruitment, he said. “The mission of PCDA is to grow the local economy. That is done in a lot of different ways, not just recruiting new companies.” Myers pointed toward business retention and expansion programs, workforce programs, small business programs and more that PCDA operates that have earned the organization several international awards and recognitions. “The goal is not just to have a program, the goal is to create jobs and raise wages and there are proven methods on how to do this which doesn’t get a lot of public attention.”

PCDA’s Director of Business and Retention Laurence Beliel said that PCDA has one of the most active programs focused on local industry. As just one example, he cited the organization’s ICAP or Industry Certification Assistance Program. “This is one of the only programs of it’s kind in the nation,” he said. “Industry certifications are becoming increasingly necessary for companies to bid on new work. This is even more important today as the supply chain is shifting. You may not know a company in Ponca City but you do know the certification they have that says they can do the work.” New contracts lead to more job creation, higher pay checks and a more diversified economy, Beliel added.

Myers said that one of PCDA’s early goals was to diversify the local economy. “When we started, roughly 60% of primary jobs in Ponca City were in the oil and gas industry. Today that number is about 25% and lot of those jobs are in the refinery.” He explained that a primary job is a job that makes a product that is exported outside of Ponca City.

The workforce situation facing Ponca City has also changed the way PCDA approaches certain aspects of economic development. “With over a thousand open positions in Ponca City, it’s a little difficult to convince a company to come here right now,” Myers said. “Companies no longer assume that workers will follow jobs. It’s now the other way around. Jobs follow the workforce.”

As a result, he said, growing a local economy is shifting to growing your workforce. “This a fundamental change and it’s good news for current Ponca City residents,” Myers said. “The future will not just be about using incentives to attract companies. It will be about a proactive, intentional effort to put our community at the top of everyone’s list for quality of life. That means continuing to build a community that people want to move to and to continue to live in. It’s about all of us, not just companies. Ponca City already has a head start, we just need to pivot to this new reality.”