By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The city's Economic Development Task Force wants to talk to every major employer in Cincinnati next week and compile a list of "at-risk" companies that might bail for the suburbs or leave Greater Cincinnati altogether.

The idea: Get to decision-makers as soon as possible to figure out a way to keep their employees in the city.

The survey will be unique because it will be conducted through Fifth Third Bank's call center in Madisonville. Starting Monday, Fifth Third employees will call about 1,500 companies, quizzing executives on plans to relocate, expand or downsize.

Creating some type of early-warning system that a company might leave is a top priority of the task force headed by Fifth Third chief executive officer George Schaefer and City Manager Valerie Lemmie. "The task force is trying to do some new things, which shows they are serious," said Randy Welker, director of business retention for the Chamber of Commerce.

The city, as well as organizations such as Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and the chamber, all work to retain businesses. But at times, the efforts are uncoordinated or incomplete.

The chamber has developed a comprehensive database of local firms, but Mr. Welker admits it's hard to call or visit each firm himself.

He hopes the call center will allow economic development officials to winnow a list of companies most likely to leave. From there, economic development officials can meet with executives of the companies and offer incentives or other help.

Ms. Lemmie acknowledged at an earlier task force meeting that the city often doesn't know businesses are in trouble or contemplating a move until it gets a federal notice of layoffs or plant closings. Several high-profile firms have left the city for new suburban locations in recent years.

E- mail kalltucker@enquirer.com

Companies interested in contacting the Chamber of Commerce about the business retention survey are encouraged to call 579-3126.