Editorial: Bright horizon toward year-round Collier economy

Editor’s note: Part 6 of a series examining progress in 2017 on seven issues the Naples Daily News editorial board identified as important for this year.

The conversation for more than a decade centered on the need to diversify Collier County’s economy by adding another stabilizing support to the so-called “three-legged stool” of tourism, construction/real estate and agriculture.

A four-legged or five-legged stool, after all, is less likely to tip over during an economic downturn. Just as importantly, the three traditional legs must remain strong as others are added.

There were signs in 2016 that the county had achieved greater economic balance through the collaborative work of Collier government leadership, the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development agency. The federal government chipped in last summer by including Immokalee as part of a “Promise Zone” designed to increase economic activity, create jobs and improve the area’s overall quality of life.

Another leg of the stool emerged in 2016 when expansions were announced for corporate headquarters and clean manufacturing plants. The highlight was international medical device innovator Arthrex’s plans to add 900 jobs in North Naples and Ave Maria. Publicly traded ACI Worldwide said it was adding dozens of six-figure jobs in its business consulting services.

Health care is sometimes overlooked as a leg of the stool. Hospital systems that serve the region are two of the top four employers, according to the Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance. Medical center expansions completed in 2016 and planned in 2017 further demonstrate our economic reliance on health care.

That’s why our editorial board believed Collier’s progress toward building a sustainable year-round economy, not just a seasonal, diversified one, was important to monitor in 2017.

Economic reports

How are we doing?

Forbes ranked Naples and Collier County as the No. 4 best place in the nation for job growth, behind Cape Coral-Fort Myers; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Orlando.

Reports prepared by the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University underscore how well-positioned Collier is to provide a sustainable year-round economy.

Most impressively, there’s the FGCU Industry Diversification Index that compares 22 Florida metropolitan areas for economic diversity. The Naples-Marco Island-Immokalee metro has ranked first in the state in industry diversification for three quarters in a row, after previously seeing its rating jump seasonally between No. 1 and No. 8.

A July FGCU report — Southwest Florida Regional Economic Indicators — offers these Collier highlights:

» “Following six months of negative trends in single-family building permits, Collier County observed a positive trend in May 2017.”

» Collier tourist tax revenues exceeded $1.9 million in April, an 18 percent increase over a year ago.

» Collier taxable sales increased to $734.2 million in March, a 4 percent increase over March 2016.

» The county’s 4 percent jobless rate in May was an improvement even beyond the 4.4 percent recorded in May 2016.

Government action

The first half of 2017 went well toward establishing a sustainable year-round economy in Collier. An asterisk is that it might have gone even better if not for the legislative struggle over Gov. Rick Scott’s request for economic incentive money for Enterprise Florida, which had helped Hertz, Arthrex and other major corporations expand in the region.

Scott rejected Collier’s request for $1 million toward the county government’s culinary business accelerator at Immokalee airport, a project with potential to promote a year-round economy — considering eating is a year-round activity.

Even so, Collier commissioners found other ways to make progress toward creating a sustainable year-round economy:

» The county government is pursuing an amateur sports complex that could bring national youth tournament play here when schools aren’t in session, providing a venue at other times for local youth and adult athletes.

» The tourist tax on hotel rooms and short-term rentals was increased by 1 to 5 percent, benefiting not just a sports complex but beaches — our No. 1 tourism draw.

So far in 2017, there’s been positive progress toward building a sustainable year-round economy.