Since we all have a stake in our economic
success, all sectors of the public should be involved in economic development
activities and planning, rather than leaving these matters solely to those in
the commercial sector. Therefore, it is critical that we as a community (1)
understand the nature and dynamics of economic development and (2) attempt to
come to a consensus on development goals and on strategies for achieving them.
The overall purpose of our economic
development efforts should be sustainable, long term prosperity. We should not
undertake initiatives that deplete important natural resources such as water
and topsoil for the sake of short term profits, since they cannot be sustained.
Similarly, we do not enhance the stability of our economy by the pursuit of
large, non-locally owned companies dependent on fluctuating national and
international markets and willing to move whenever conditions are more favorable
elsewhere.
The majority of jobs created nationwide in
the last 20 years have been by small, local businesses, including farms. Small,
local businesses not only create most jobs, they also have greater allegiance
to the local community. In addition, their diversity contributes to a stable
economy, since the inevitable failure of some small businesses does not greatly
affect the economy as a whole.
If local businesses produce goods or services
for the local market which were previously imported from the outside, their
impact is magnified. Money which had been lost to other regions is instead recirculated several times within the community. The
profits of locally owned companies are also recirculated
in the local economy, unlike the profits of externally owned companies.
A systematic program to decrease the local
dollars lost from purchasing products and services from outside the community,
called “import substitution” or “plugging the leaks” in the local economy, is
the most powerful economic development tool available. This can be
accomplished by developing local suppliers for products and services needed by
area businesses. For example, the
Plugging the leaks can also be accomplished
by conservation programs, in which reducing waste of imported products, such as
energy, directly increases the wealth of the local economy. Such a program in
Osage,
By supporting the prosperity and expansion
of existing businesses in the Walla Walla area, by
encouraging local entrepreneurship and new local businesses, and by conserving
imported and local resources, this area can gain greater self-sufficiency,
increased jobs, more opportunities for young people, and ongoing economic
stability.
This was the experience in Napoleon, Ohio,
where the city government and Chamber of Commerce created a business retention
and expansion program at the request of local business leaders, which added an
average of 35 new jobs a year over a 6 year period. The business incubator
initiated by the
In the
-the management skills and worker training
programs of
-the general education and vocational
programs of the public schools
-the farmers market being developed by the
Downtown
-the small business center operated by WWCC
in cooperation with the
-the sustainable farming programs of the
Natural Resources Conservation Service and WSU Cooperative Extension Service,
and
-new business development and retention
efforts of the
Conspicuously lacking in our community,
however, are systematic import substitution and strong community-wide
conservation programs. An analysis of the availability of adequate capital for
local business should also be undertaken to ascertain whether a local development
credit fund for the
The first goal of economic development,
therefore, should be to support the founding, survival, and expansion of local
small businesses. The means to achieving this should include (1) support for
general education, management skills, and worker training programs, (2) support
for the small business center and business incubators, (3) development of
systematic import substitution and conservation programs, including the
important agricultural sector, (4) support for natural resources conservation
programs, including commercially productive farm and timber lands, and (5)
exploration of the need for a local development credit fund.
The second goal of economic development
should be to protect and improve the quality of public resources and services.
In addition to its local businesses, entrepreneurship, labor force, and
productive natural resources, the other primary economic asset of the community
is its public resources and services.
These resources serve businesses directly to
some extent, but also serve all of the citizens of the area, and are largely
responsible for why people want to live here. Included in this category are the
schools, colleges, transportation systems, water and sewer systems, police and
fire services, libraries, parks, and recreational facilities, as well as clean
air, natural beauty, freedom from congestion and blight, security from crime,
friendly neighborhoods, and the richness of the cultural activities available.
The importance of these public resources to
the economic well-being of the community is sometimes overlooked. As well as
their direct relevance to productivity, they are the quality of life factors
businesses seek when they decide where to locate.
In addition, they are the factors which
attract or repel others such as retirees, who are free to live where they wish,
and whose expenditures and investments have a large impact on the community
they choose to settle in. Forty to fifty percent of all personal income flowing
into communities is other than wages, salaries, or profits, and includes income
on investments, pensions, and transfer payments.
Along with its agricultural lands, the Walla Walla area’s most significant economic asset is the quality
of its public resources, including its rich cultural offerings, parks,
beautiful streets lined with tall trees and historic homes, clean air,
small-town sense of community and security, and lack of congestion.
The sustained ability to attract and hold a
stable population over the decades, together with the wide diversity of
businesses and employers, which have been relatively unaffected by national
highs and lows, demonstrates the basic health of the area economy. The net
influx of new residents to the area in the last several years unconnected with
any major new job offerings is further testimony to the attractiveness of the
community as a place to live.
While incoming residents bring new resources
and can be the source of new businesses, they also necessitate new or expanded
public services. In general, the effect of a growth in population, from
whatever source, is that public expenditures increase per capita, requiring
higher taxes to pay for expensive new facilities.
A growth in population also means more
congestion, degraded air quality, and related urban problems. Newcomers from
areas with higher costs of living and generally increased demand drive housing
costs out of reach for some existing residents, and most will find the
qualities which attracted them to the community degraded. In the end, in an
area as wealthy in culture and amenities as ours, we believe that growth will
tend to impoverish rather than enrich us.
Because of such difficulties, the provisions
of the Growth Management Act require our cities and county to squarely face the
costs of growth, and to condition new land development
on community plans to deal with the problems growth brings. Planning under the
Growth Management Act will allow many of these concerns to be addressed.
While we don’t have much control over the
unsought type of growth this area has experienced over the past several years,
some types of growth can be influenced by public policy, including economic
development programs. We as a community can choose how we pursue economic
development, whether by encouraging the establishment, survival, and expansion
of local businesses built around the needs and characteristics of the local
community and workforce, or by encouraging outside businesses to relocate their
personnel and facilities to Walla Walla.
The attempt to convince outside companies and
their employees to move here, rather than to one of the thousands of other communities
which are courting them, can worsen our population pressures. Such campaigns
are also expensive to run, and often involve further community expense in the
form of a package of tax, environmental, and other concessions or giveaways to
the prospective outside company, that degrade the community’s public
resources--in our case, our greatest asset.
The most fruitful and cost-effective approach
to economic development is to invest our development funds in strengthening our
primary economic assets, namely our public resources and our local businesses.
By doing so, we are improving the health of our economy, creating jobs, and
keeping our destiny in our own hands. At the same time, we are protecting and
enhancing our quality of life, which is the essential reason we live here. Such
an approach directly enriches us.
To renew our economy and to protect its
stability and our high quality of life, we need a commitment by all elements of
the community to consensus building and cooperation toward a community economic
development plan. Walla Walla 2020 is committed to
participating in such a process.