BELLEFONTE — There’s no hiding Democrat Mark Higgins’ excitement to step into his role as the only newcomer to the county’s board of commissioners.
“You know, I’m a turnaround guy. I do the near impossible on a day-to-day basis, so I decided to run for county commissioner and I’m going to make sure we talk about things like how do we bring businesses to the region and how do we grow businesses that are already in the region,” Higgins said.
After talking to more than 11,000 people in the county in the months leading up to the Nov. 3 election, Higgins received 23 percent of the vote, second to incumbent Michael Pipe. Republican Steve Dershem took the last spot on the board after finishing ahead of former commissioner Republican Chris Exarchos and newcomer Independent Todd Kirsten.
Higgins said he was inspired to run for commission after he analyzed other county budgets with the local chamber of commerce and learned that many counties spend upward of $8 million on economic development, while Centre County spends about $25,000 of its $80 million annual budget on the same thing.
While Penn State President Eric Barron is expanding the university’s support for economic development and entrepreneurship, Higgins said the county currently lacks the infrastructure needed to keep many new startups in the area once they outgrow the university’s support.
Higgins said he is advocating for graduate facilities to help encourage successful startups that are too big for an incubator but cannot afford downtown rent to stay in the area. Higgins has already met with major economic development groups in the county to discuss funding, location and structure of a such a facility. To offset taxpayer costs, there are many grants and charities that help counties fund economic development.
“In Centre County, we spend nothing, so we have nothing,” he said.
In 2006, three Penn State students started the now successful web-hosting service Weebly, but the company moved to its current headquartered in San Francisco. OrderUp, the online food ordering franchise, was also started by Penn State students, but the company is now located in Baltimore.
Not only would startups create jobs in and of themselves, but they also stimulate the local economy, creating jobs across other sectors, according to Higgins. For every startup job, there is between two to five spinoff jobs, he added.
Higgins said he has spent more than 200 hours preparing for the position, including meeting with economic development officials and attending the conference that the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania hosts each year.
The CCAP Newly Elected Officials Workshop and Fall Conference, which was held Nov. 21 through Nov. 24, gave newly elected commissioners in the state a chance to meet with experienced commissioners and attend seminars.
“It was very intense, but I learned a whole lot,” Higgins said.
Higgins has met with and read resources provided by Denise Elbell, deputy county administrator, and Commissioner Pipe. He is reading through the county budget and had watched the last three months of commissioners meetings on CNET. And, Higgins also attended a program through Leadership Centre County, which he said taught him a lot about the county.
In light of the ongoing state impasse, Higgins said that during his first days as commissioner he is going to focus on the county’s finances.
“The county is going to take out a $10 million loan within the first couple days of January so that the county can keep writing checks,” he said.
Higgins said the loan is likely to last through February, but then the county will be in the same boat as many other counties across the state and could be forced to look at service cuts.
“But, I enjoy helping people solve problems; it’s what I’ve done my whole life,” he said.
