The positive message that is embedded in the July PM cover story “Silicon Valley to Main Street,” is a collaborative one: community issues can be solved with business leaders’ help. Written by Carl Guardino, president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, San José, California, who will lead a panel discussion at ICMA’s 2010 Annual Conference this coming October, the article helps demonstrate how local governments can join private sector leaders to create stronger communities.

Why is it so important that businesses and local governments work together to solve issues? Data compiled by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LACEDC) show the direct connection between jobs, the local economy, and revenue for government spending.

According to LACEDC, one semiconductor job helps create five more (indirect and induced) jobs. Those six jobs generate $476,000 in wages and benefits, which leads to $70,800 in state and local taxes. A pharmaceutical preparation manufacturing job can lead to seven more jobs, $701,000 in wages and benefits, and $100,200 in state and local taxes.

To read the complete article and  Silicon Valley’s transformations, with its roughly nine-county region that makes up the San Francisco Bay Area and home to 7,000 tech companies, 2,400 bio-tech companies, and 1 million jobs, visit the PM website.

Read more about ICMA’s 2010 Annual Conference in San Jose, California, October 17 to 20.