The other cities are Detroit, New Orleans, Cleveland, Memphis, and Fresno, Calif. They were pared from a list of 30 candidates, said Eugene Cornelius Jr., another SBA official.
"Detroit and New Orleans are iconic cities," he said, "but Chester is more representative of other cities."
It may seem counterintuitive to dispatch 14 agencies to "cut red tape," which Johns said is a primary objective of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities program. But "what the initiative is designed to do is to put you in touch with the right person," she said.
"Money is always important. But it is also important to see that the dots are connected in the right way."
At a similar announcement in Detroit, Mayor Dave Bing spoke to the money-management issues. "One of the things that's happened historically with Detroit is that we've gotten financial support," he said, but "we've not managed the finances very, very well."
In Chester, employment is a priority, said Mayor Wendell N. Butler. The SBA, one of the lead agencies in the program, will work with the city to create jobs.
In May, Chester's unemployment rate was 12.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the national rate was 8.7.
Another participant will be the Justice Department, which will work on safety matters at street level, "not on some theoretical macro level in Washington," said Bernard K. Melekian, director of Community Oriented Policing Services (yes, the acronym is COPS).
Johns said the Environmental Protection Agency can help with demolition issues, and the Department of Transportation with street beautification.
Chester's modern government complex contrasts dramatically with the squalid streetscapes not far from the I-95 exit. The poverty rate was over 35 percent in 2009.
But the city has had some recent successes, including residential development. It boasts of $1.36 billion in public and private investment since 1996, and has added 2,000 jobs in the last five years.
Johns said the Strong Cities program remains "a work in progress," and details of precisely how it will function, and how much it will cost the federal government in personnel and travel expenses, are not yet clear. Chester spokeswoman Emily Harris said that she expected federal personnel to start arriving in the fall and that the city would provide office space.
Jane Vincent, the regional Housing and Urban Development administrator, described Chester as an ideal choice, a city of "such promise."
Contact staff writer Anthony R. Wood at 610-761-8423 or twood@phillynews.com.
