Mayor will address national conference

The city would match 25 percent of federal stimulus dollars received.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jay Williams will deliver an address Thursday at a national conference in Washington, D.C., about revitalizing industrial cities — and issue a challenge to the federal government.

Williams will speak specifically about the challenges, successes and opportunities of smaller industrial cities and about what the federal government can do to support their revitalization.

The “Revitalizing Older Cities” summit is sponsored by the Mid-West Institute, Brookings Institution, Smart Growth America and Policy Link. It’s being held to help federal policymakers, congressional members, those in the presidential administration and others understand and discuss the vital links between federal policies and the revitalization of the nation’s cities and towns, Williams said.

The timing is to coincide with the federal stimulus bill, he said.

“As I watch very closely the debate on Capitol Hill, I consistently hear the mantra of jobs, jobs, jobs,” Williams said. “However, I am deeply concerned when I begin to examine where the stimulus money is being directed.”

The federal government must invest in well-established programs with proven track records of job creation, he said.

If the stimulus package provides $5 million to Youngstown, Williams said the city will match 25 percent of the investment in economic development programs with local funding, commit to facilitate and document the creation and/or retention of 2,000 jobs and multiply threefold the stimulus investment with private investment dollars. If the city fails to reach those goals, Williams said the city would offer to repay the stimulus money.

“The city of Youngstown is willing to put its money where its mouth is,” he said.