Angie Muhleisen , President and CEO of Union Bank & Trust and Ava Thomas, President and Publisher of the Lincoln Journal Star are co-Chairperson for the Mayor's Economic Recovery Taskforce. The group was tasked with developing datadriven, locally informed strategies for supporting local businesses and employment as the local economy begins to recover from COVID-19, while fostering public health, inclusion, and resilience in Lincoln.
Angie Muhleisen
Ava Thomas
The task force was asked to produce recommended strategies for supporting local businesses in adapting their business models and retaining and supporting their workforce through the COVID-19 crisis. Supporting local workforce development and employment, as many have lost work and income as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Supporting local sectors of the economy and community that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and that contribute to the city’s qualify of life and competitive advantage.
The task force was composed of 18 individuals appointed by the Mayor. Each individual served on a subcommittee: Local Business Strategies; Local Workforce Strategies; and Local Sector Strategies. The full task force met 3
times and each subcommittee met about 5 times in the period between June 12, 2020 and August 12, 2020. Many people contributed to the work of the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force. The task force is grateful to all those who helped support and inform this effort, including over 265 organizations that responded to a survey put out by the Local Business, Strategies Subcommittee, as well as the Bloomberg Philanthropies COVID-19 Local Response
Initiative.
times and each subcommittee met about 5 times in the period between June 12, 2020 and August 12, 2020. Many people contributed to the work of the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force. The task force is grateful to all those who helped support and inform this effort, including over 265 organizations that responded to a survey put out by the Local Business, Strategies Subcommittee, as well as the Bloomberg Philanthropies COVID-19 Local Response
Initiative.
The economic and personal impact of COVID-19 has been deeply felt by the residents of Lincoln. In April 2020, the unemployment rate for Lancaster County reached 9.4%, which is the highest that rate has been since at least 1990, when such data started to be collected at the county level. Total small business revenue in Lancaster County has declined by over 50% over the course of the pandemic when compared to pre-pandemic levels. Sectors critical to Lincoln’s economy and quality of life have been particularly impacted by COVID-19 from both a revenue and jobs perspective, including the accommodation and physical distancing. They are retooling business operations, lending support to neighbors, and patronizing local businesses. They are reaching out and not letting physical isolation become emotional isolation. They are demonstrating courage, compassion, and creativity in the face of crisis.
The Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force was not created to solve all the complex challenges created or made worse by COVID-19, or to replace community-led efforts with a set of external, topdown fixes. Instead, the task force was asked to come up with a few recommended strategies, on a short time frame, for supporting economic recovery and renewal from the standpoint of local businesses and employment.
The following principles helped guide the task force’s approach to developing recommended strategies:
Timely and implementable. To make this work as meaningful as possible as quickly as possible, the task force focused on developing recommendations that can be implemented and acted upon within a short-to-intermediate time
frame. Some recommendations call upon action by residents while others call upon action by employers and private and public sector leaders.
frame. Some recommendations call upon action by residents while others call upon action by employers and private and public sector leaders.
Locally relevant. To ensure recommendations were data-driven and locally sensitive, the Local Business Strategies Subcommittee distributed a survey - the COVID-19 Business Support Survey - to organizations throughout the community to gain a better understanding of opportunities and challenges facing local businesses. The survey had over 265 respondents.
Durable. Task force members applied a lens of public health, inclusion, and resilience (ability to weather future shocks). These principles were baked into the mission of the task force and provide a basis for fostering Lincoln’s long-term renewal and economic stability.
Asset-driven. In the spirit of asset-based community development, the task force focused on strengthening and leveraging local resources, knowledge, capacities, and relationships, rather than solely focusing on local needs or
deficiencies.
deficiencies.
There were several townhall meetings that would help to:
Cultivate Opportunities for Business-to-Business Support - To hold forums in which businesses directly share resources, information, and experience with one another on topics relevant and timely for the business community. Topics should include creating a safe working environment; accessing financial assistance and personal protective equipment; and supporting employee mental health and social connectedness, among others.
Promote Economic Resilience and inclusion - Evidence shows that we can meaningfully and sustainably grow our community’s wealth by strategically investing in local businesses, small businesses, and women- and minority-owned business enterprises (WMBE). The City should revise its procurement policy and practices with an eye toward providing local, small, and women and minority-owned businesses with greater access to City contracting opportunities. Employers in a position to do so are encouraged to sign a pledge to spend 1% more locally, and residents are encouraged to buy more locally and to prioritize spending at small businesses and WMBEs.
Local Workforce Strategies Recommendations - Connect Employers with Local Workforce Resources and Opportunities. There are many local resources that exist to address Lincoln’s pressing unemployment and underemployment challenges, but many of these resources are under-utilized. We recommend that employer participation in existing workforce programs and networks,
Upskill and Reskill Lincoln's Workforce - To adapt to COVID-19 and the ever-shifting jobs landscape, continual upskilling and reskilling of Lincoln’s workforce is required. Professional development must occur on an ongoing basis. The City of Lincoln should create public incentives for upskilling and reskilling workers displaced by COVID-19. We also recommend that workforce partners increase jobseeker awareness of publicly available resources for professional development. Finally, workforce partners, in collaboration with employers, should develop a “ready to work” strategy that connects community-led skill development initiatives with employment opportunities.
It is recommended that we as residents go out and help by doing our purchases if possible with the local small business owners, shops that are owned by women and owned by minority people. This will help our economy get back to being back to what we call normal.