September 4, 2018

RE: Hamilton County Budget Proposal

Judi Boyko
Assistant County Administrator
Hamilton County, Ohio
138 East Court Street, Room 603
Cincinnati, OH 45202

REDI Cincinnati understands the financial constraints Hamilton County is operating within. The County’s
investment in REDI Cincinnati has consistently generated a strong ROI for the County as measured by new
jobs, capital investment, and real estate development. Since its inception in 2014, REDI Cincinnati has
generated more than 22,000 new jobs, more than $1 billion of new payroll, and $2.3 billion of capital
investment in our region.

Sixty percent of REDI Cincinnati’s projects have occurred in Hamilton County which equates to: 12,441 new
jobs, $729,514,380 of new payroll and $654,176,665 of fixed asset investment since 2014. As REDI
Cincinnati’s projects have provided new job opportunities and earnings potential for Hamilton County
residents, it has fostered additional increases in sales and property tax revenue for Hamilton County not
included in this analysis.

Another important metric to note regarding these projects is that for more than 70 percent of them, the entry
point to Hamilton County was through REDI Cincinnati’s attraction and expansion efforts. When including
our work as the JobsOhio network partner, that number increases to 88 percent. This demonstrates the
value that REDI Cincinnati provides in being the first point of contact for businesses.

While we understand that it’s not the intention to detrimentally impact REDI Cincinnati’s performance, a
potential reduction of 24 percent of the County’s commitment ($60,000), would significantly impact REDI
Cincinnati’s operating budget. REDI Cincinnati is 100 percent funded by investor pledges and service
agreements, like the one with Hamilton County. It does not generate fees or other revenue from the
companies it supports. Reduced funding would impact REDI Cincinnati’s ability to leverage funds from
additional sources, such as the City of Cincinnati, which has matched the County’s contribution level.
Together, this local funding is used by REDI Cincinnati to secure the level of funding received from our
JobsOhio service contract. It is possible that Hamilton County’s reduction would not only result in $60,000
less funding for REDI Cincinnati but may potentially create a total reduction of $120,000 locally that would
also impact the amount received from JobsOhio.

As a private, non-profit organization, we operate as stewards of our investors’ dollars by diligently managing
a lean operation, employing exactly the amount of people needed to support a very focused economic
development strategy for Greater Cincinnati. A possible reduction of $120,000 is comparable to two full-time
project management positions, or nearly a quarter of our domestic and international business attraction
budget. A significant reduction to either of these key variables in REDI Cincinnati’s efforts would be
detrimental to sustaining the region’s success. REDI Cincinnati would be required to adjust for the loss of
revenue in its services, which could negatively impact Hamilton County’s and our region’s opportunities to
compete for new jobs and capital investment.
REDI Cincinnati’s funding strategy is premised on the principle that we are stronger as a whole than
individually. Together, we are able to leverage all the financial and human capital resources to accomplish
our economic growth goals for Hamilton County and our region.

By maintaining REDI Cincinnati’s funding, we would continue building on this momentum to strengthen our
economy each year.

REDI Cincinnati’s ROI Impact since 2014:

- Annual average of 2,488 jobs, $145,902,876 payroll and $130,835,333 fixed asset investment in
Hamilton County.
- REDI Cincinnati advocated and procured more than $214,674,610 of financial support to assist
Hamilton County employers’ job-creating projects
- REDI Cincinnati leveraged more than $13 million of JobsOhio grant funds to help develop 157 acres of
marketable land in Hamilton County, leveraging $43 million private, public, partnership
investment.