Anyting good?

The Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO), formed in 2001 by Topeka and Shawnee County, funnels a half-cent countywide sales tax into economic development initiatives, primarily through GO Topeka. Its mission is to spark growth, boost jobs, and strengthen the tax base, but its funding allocations have been a mixed bag of hits and misses, often leaning toward flashy misfires over substantive wins. Below is a biting evaluation of JEDO’s funding priorities, tied to the context of Topeka’s economic stagnation, the Choose Topeka program’s flops, and the broader failures of GO Topeka, with a sharp focus on what’s working, what’s not, and why. I’ll weave in relevant data from the provided web results while critically dissecting the allocation strategy.

Overview of JEDO’s Funding Framework

JEDO’s budget comes from a half-cent sales tax, generating roughly $5 million annually, meant to fuel economic development. The board, with seven voting members (three county commissioners, the mayor, deputy mayor, and two city council members) and six non-voting council members, directs these funds, often delegating execution to GO Topeka. Allocations span business incentives, job creation programs, infrastructure, and “quality of place” projects, with a performance-based model tying payouts to measurable outcomes like job creation or capital investment. Recent years show a heavy focus on manufacturing expansions, small business grants, talent attraction (e.g., Choose Topeka), and select community projects like innovation centers and digital inclusion.

What’s Working: The (Few) Bright Spots

JEDO’s not entirely asleep at the wheel—some allocations have delivered. Manufacturing expansions are a strong suit, aligning with Topeka’s industrial base (e.g., Frito-Lay, Goodyear, Mars). For instance:

• Harris Fabrication (2023): JEDO approved $190,000 for a $2.1 million expansion, creating 30 jobs at $48,000 average salaries, with a projected $175 million local impact over 10 years (117% ROI).
• Topeka Foundry & Iron Works (2022): An amended $10,000 incentive for a $5 million additional investment yielded a $210.5 million impact over 10 years (450% ROI).
• Southwest Publishing & Mailing (2024): $272,000 supported a $31 million expansion, adding 60 jobs with a $240 million impact (246% ROI).
• HME Inc. (2024): $2.136 million for expansion, creating 167 jobs and a $1.24 billion impact (171% ROI).

These projects leverage Topeka’s logistical strengths—interstate access, rail systems, and a central U.S. location—and target mid-skill jobs that fit the region’s workforce. The performance-based structure ensures funds aren’t just handouts; companies must hit job or investment targets. Total jobs from these deals (300+ from HME and others in 2024 alone) provide tangible economic boosts, especially in manufacturing, which employs a significant chunk of Shawnee County’s 178,000 residents.

Small business grants also show promise. In 2021, JEDO allocated $700,000 for businesses with under 50 employees hit by COVID, requiring proof of hardship. While modest, this targeted aid helped stabilize local firms, diversifying the economy beyond big manufacturers.

What’s Failing: Misallocated Millions and Strategic Blunders

Despite these wins, JEDO’s funding choices often scream mispriority, squandering cash on low-impact or poorly executed initiatives while Topeka’s core issues—stagnant population, shrinking tax base, and botched big bets—fester. Here’s where they’re screwing up:

1. Choose Topeka’s Paltry Impact:
   • JEDO’s poured at least $393,250 into Choose Topeka by 2022, offering $5,000–$15,000 to lure 61 workers over three years. The $5 million impact is negligible against Topeka’s $6 billion economy, and 61 people (0.05% of 126,000 residents) won’t dent population stagnation. The program’s bureaucratic maze—employer matches, JEDO approvals, year-long waits—chokes its scale. Compared to Tulsa’s simpler $10,000 upfront model, it’s a clunky mess. JEDO’s betting on PR buzz (4.9 million media impressions) over substance, diverting funds from broader workforce development or tax-base fixes.
2. Over-Reliance on Manufacturing Incentives:
   • While manufacturing deals shine, JEDO’s heavy tilt toward them (e.g., $2.136 million for HME, $847,000 for Haas Metal in 2020) risks tunnel vision. Topeka’s economy needs diversification—tech, healthcare, or creative industries—but JEDO’s barely touched these. The 2015 Garner Economic report criticized JEDO for ignoring broader strategies, yet a decade later, it’s still leaning on the same playbook. Small wins like 712 Innovations ($30–$300 memberships for co-working) are underfunded and overshadowed by million-dollar factory deals.
3. Neglecting Digital Inclusion and Workforce Skills:
   • Lazone Grays’ 2020 pitch for a digital inclusion fund—crucial for equipping Topeka’s workforce with marketable skills like coding—got lip service but no serious JEDO action. Digital literacy could bridge economic disparities, especially in underserved East Topeka, but JEDO’s allocated zero dedicated funds here, despite Grays’ call for a community-led plan. This snub undermines long-term talent retention, critical when Choose Topeka’s failing to grow population.
4. Questionable “Quality of Place” Spending:
   • JEDO’s $2 million for downtown projects in 2018, including $644,000 for NOTO’s Redbud Park, prioritized “jewels in the heart of the city” over countywide needs. Commissioner Bob Archer slammed the lack of public input, and rejected projects like the Topeka Zoo’s Japanese garden highlight JEDO’s urban bias. While downtown’s ASTRA Innovation District (Innovation Center 2.0, approved 2024) got funds for 2026 completion, its $2 million price tag overshadows neglected rural or industrial zones. These feel like vanity projects when the tax base is bleeding from a decade of housing tax breaks.
5. Complicity in City Council’s Disasters:
   • JEDO’s tied to the council’s $9.5 million sinkhole on a failing hotel and AT&T building, which obliterated economic development funds. While JEDO didn’t directly allocate this, its sales tax revenue was tapped, and its silence on the council’s mismanagement shows weak oversight. This gutted resources for scalable initiatives, leaving programs like Choose Topeka underpowered and the tax base weaker.

Strategic Missteps and Broader Context

JEDO’s allocations reflect a deeper failure to adapt. The 2015 Garner Economic report urged a full-time JEDO coordinator, a stand-alone GO Topeka, and more “quality of place” investment, but progress is sluggish. JEDO’s still entangled with GO Topeka’s bureaucracy, and its communication—despite 2015 calls for transparency—remains opaque, with projects like “Project Eagle” or “Project Oriole” shrouded in secrecy until approvals.

In your Country Club scene, the council’s blowing cash while GO Topeka (and JEDO) flounder. JEDO’s funding mirrors this—sprinkling millions on manufacturing and downtown glitz while population flatlines and taxes shrink. The Momentum 2022 and 2027 plans push innovation, but JEDO’s slow to fund scalable ideas like digital equity or diverse industries, sticking to safe bets that don’t move the needle enough.

Recommendations for Reallocation

JEDO needs to stop chasing headlines and fix its aim:

• Scale Up Workforce Development: Divert Choose Topeka’s budget to digital literacy and vocational training, targeting mid-skill jobs in logistics and healthcare. A $1 million digital inclusion fund, as Grays suggested, could train hundreds, boosting employability over a few transplants.
• Diversify Incentives: Cap manufacturing deals at 50% of the budget, redirecting $2 million annually to tech startups or creative sectors. Fund 712 Innovations-style hubs at $500,000 to nurture entrepreneurs.
• Prioritize Tax-Base Growth: Pause “quality of place” projects like NOTO until the tax base stabilizes. Use $1 million to audit and reform tax breaks bleeding revenue.
• Transparent Planning: Publish all project details pre-approval, addressing Archer’s 2018 concerns, to rebuild public trust.

Conclusion

JEDO’s funding isn’t a total trainwreck—manufacturing deals like HME and Harris Fabrication deliver jobs and ROI, and small business grants show grit. But its obsession with big-ticket expansions and downtown frills, paired with duds like Choose Topeka and inaction on digital inclusion, screams misallocation. Topeka’s population isn’t growing, the tax base is eroding, and JEDO’s complicity in the council’s $9.5 million fiasco only deepens the hole. They’re tossing cash at symptoms while the disease—strategic inertia and a lack of bold, diverse investment—festers. Until JEDO shifts gears, no amount of sales tax millions will pull Topeka out of its rut.