Just one "Note" this week Please Share or Publish!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Eight years ago Governor Walker entered office with a slightly flawed proposal for a high speed rail corridor from Chicago to Minneapolis sitting on his desk. He stopped the project – that was a mistake. We now know that the “New Commerce” needs a low cost, high speed, coast to coast delivery system for goods and this piece of the puzzle would have put Wisconsin at the top of list for distribution not to mention new manufacturing and assembly opportunities. Governor Walker could have ensured the rail system was used to help Wisconsin businesses by implementing a few adjustments to the original proposal – he did not.

Today newly elected Governor Evers will find a flawed economic development corporation (WEDC) sitting on his desk. He is proposing eliminating the entity – that would be a mistake. To compete for jobs and encourage new companies to come to Wisconsin we need an organization that can both shepherd them through the process and offer State and local incentives that will help them build, expand and hire new employees while still benefiting the local community and the State. Tony Evers has a real opportunity to change WEDC for the better – he may not.

WEDC needs to change and I have written about these changes before, but eliminating the organization and returning the functions to the even more bureaucratic departments of Commerce and Administration – would be a mistake. At this point I am tempted to simply insert the article I wrote six years ago and I promise it would stand up today. Instead I will offer just a few observations and suggestions that I hope someone will pass along.

First we need to bring an economic development team to the entire state. Today we have independent professionals in most counties and major cities. I propose that these non-government employees become a part of a truly independent WEDC. Salaries and benefits would be paid in part by the local communities and in part by WEDC. (A note to Tony: This would be equivalent to the CESA or UW Extension systems now used by schools and local government). These professionals would work locally but would come to Madison regularly to develop strategies and learn all the tools at their disposal.

Next we need to recreate and redistribute the tools. Tax incremental finance laws need to be rewritten to mirror how they are actually used successfully today. We need to remove the politics from new jobs tax credits and make these credits available to all growing companies who are willing to work with the State and local communities and pay a good wage. Finally we need to track and facilitate the distribution of thousands of other benefits and programs. From federal Community Development Block Grants and Small Business Development Programs to local development programs, there are funds available that will require a unified effort to track, apply for and administer.

We also need to track and control our efforts. A simple database of every company, incentives received, taxable value on brick and mortar and number of new employees should be easy to create and maintain. The current WEDC sent me a spreadsheet with some of this data and then got upset when I reported that they had given millions to a company who failed to move to Wisconsin. Speaking of failure, we need to tie all of our incentives to measurable objectives. Doing this correctly will not require claw-backs, lawsuits, and vanishing funds. We also need to partner with banks, angel investors, and “Mr. Wonderful of Shark Tank” to bring the expertise they offer to the table. If these entities do not see the value in a proposal we should take that as a hint that we may not want to invest either.

So here is the challenge. Governor Evers, you can be political and remove a flawed WEDC and return our economic development efforts to the hundreds of disjointed entities currently in place – or you can be be a public servant and unify our efforts across the State to actually support the businesses that will provide jobs that will generate the taxes you need to accomplish your greater agenda. Do you build the railroad or derail the train???

Ken Harwood
Editor and Publisher WisconsinDevelopment.com
...more

WEDC, DPI and My Thoughts...

This op-ed is about the WEDC but you will need to get to the end of my story to find out how. In the 90’s I served on a school board for 8 years, and was active at both the State and Local levels. I was an advocate for students first, faculty and staff second, and taxpayers (my actual bosses) third. I took all these responsibilities very seriously and to the best of my ability equally. Education was served and managed then, as it is now, by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). I believe education was well served.

That said, the DPI on more than one occasion drove me crazy. I felt the DPI supported teacher mandates, property tax increases, and often, I felt they placed the student lower on their priority list than they should have. They were in charge of implementing hundreds of federal mandates (the Title Programs), grants and special funding. All of this came with strings and complexities that made being a public servant challenging and the DPI very very necessary and often even more frustrating.

During my tenure I served on the School Board Association`s State Legislative committee and we often debated the role of DPI and the State Superintendent and whether the State legislature and governor should have more control. One of my favorite memories from that period was anytime I got to sit in a room where both Bert Grover and Tommy Thompson were both at the table. What I learned was that it was not easy being in either position. They discussed, argued, and even fought – but in the end they most often compromised and the student, teacher, taxpayer triumvirate was well served. We had one of the best public education systems in the nation. I voted to maintain this separation of church and state -- even though it often made my job on the school board more complicated.

Today we are dealing with an educational system where the triumvirate balance has been disturbed by a non compromising legislature and the business system has been challenged by a new administration promising change. Now the DPI and WEDC will both need to change moving forward. The challenge is to remember the balance in the mix. We as a government must administer the complexity of the system: Taxes, Mandates, Local Government, Rules and Regulations, Grants, Leadership, Communication and Support.

I do not see this going well and already the legislature has jumped into full battle mode with special legislative session that will not serve businesses as much as it will agitate the incumbent who has said he will challenge this in court.

Moving forward my crystal ball suggests that for the next four years any increased funding for DPI or Local Schools will not survive even the finance committee much less the legislature. I also predict that any business or economic development support items inserted into the budget will be line item vetoed by the new Governor. I do not see any winners in this new scenario, but I know students and business will not fare well. Taxpayers will get less and pay more, and “Public Servants” are a dying breed.

I miss Bert and Tommy...

Ken Harwood

Advocate for Wisconsin, ED professional, former Mayor, former School Board Member and Editor of this publication....

Ken Harwood: Don`t kill WEDC — make it better

Evers calls for public economic development agency to replace semi-private Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation

Please see our blog here for updates... .

First round winners to be determined by Dec. 11

With economy improving since Great Recessions and older generations retiring, UW graduates in good position for finding work

Fitzgerald: Votes Aren`t There For $70M Tax Incentives Package

Watch the WhirlyBall Video Here.

Republicans carried out their plan to strip authority from the incoming Democratic governor, and what was remarkable was how little disagreement there was about why they did it.

Wisconsin Policy Forum report examines industry role in Wisconsin economy

But Northwest Side Community Development Corp. head questions support for company`s move to Menomonee Falls

Some Elected Officials Say Project Will Not Bring Enough Jobs To City

Madison Area Chambers -- New!

Land & Space Development Database

PROGRAMS

BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT ATTRACTION

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

SECTOR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

For a quick review - Display Titles Only! Two minutes is all we ask!

For a quick review - Display Titles Only!
Two minutes is all we ask!