The government's view: Officials look at economic recovery

“We all know that we’ve been through a very tough time,” said Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as he spoke to a Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Bedford Welcome Center, Monday.
    Bolling noted that, although economists state that the recession ended last year, it doesn’t feel that way to most people.
    “It’s been tough on families,” he said. “It’s had a big impact on government.”
    Bolling noted that unemployment decreases state revenue from payroll taxes. When people don’t have jobs, they don’t shop or buy new cars. This further decreases state tax revenue.
    He told the gathering that he and Governor Bob McDonnell have focused on growth this year. This focus has been on two realities. In the first place, Virginia will not drive a national economic recovery. This means that they must work to position the state to take advantage of recovery.
    The second reality is that the private sector, not government, creates jobs.
    With these in mind, the Governor proposed a jobs opportunity agenda with 39 pieces of legislation aimed to draw business to Virginia. Bolling said the General Assembly passed 36 of these.
    “When you get 36 out of 39 in Richmond, you’re doing good,” Bolling said, adding that these were passed with bipartisan support.
    He said that the Governor also asked for $50 million for economic development programs. The General Assembly gave him $57.5 million. This helped the state open trade offices in foreign countries and run ads to promote tourism in Virginia. Trade is important as Virginia’s geography makes possible a major seaport.
    The economic development effort includes recruitment and retention. Bolling said that they have identified 50 companies that will fit well in Virginia and Bolling has been talking to their CEOs touting the advantages of moving to Virginia. They have also identified the top 125 businesses in Virginia and Bolling is talking to their CEOs to assess how the state can best help them.
    Bolling said that so far, during the first seven months of the McDonnell administration, the state has closed 145 economic deals which have brought 8,000 jobs to the Commonwealth along with $1.5 billion in capital investment. Job figures for the second quarter of this year listed Virginia as having the third largest job creation rate in the country.
    Things still aren’t rosy. Bolling, who has spearheaded the state economic development program,  has had a number of conversations with CEOs. They tell him that they have money to expand, but uncertainty about what the federal government will do next is keeping them from spending. Bolling said that the policies coming out of Washington have been job killers.
    “A lot of them [CEOs] are saying, ‘We are going to wait and see what happens in the election,’” Bolling said.
    He also said that the proposed elimination of the Joint Forces Command Center, located in Suffolk, and cuts in defense contract spending will have a severe impact on Virginia.
    Bolling expects the next phase of the state’s economic development program to focus on small businesses, helping them get capital and credit and helping them promote themselves on the Internet.
    He also expects efforts to improve workforce training. He said that one problem is that workforce training is spread across 23 separate agencies, making it difficult to manage.
    In addition to Bolling, some local officials spoke.
    “Here in Bedford, we still make things,” commented Charles Kolakowski, Bedford’s city manager.
    Kolakowski believes that the United States can’t prosper on a service economy. For manufacturing to prosper, taxes and regulation must be kept reasonable and energy must be inexpensive and reliable. Kolakowski said that he came here from New Jersey and that there is a reason why businesses are leaving New Jersey and relocating to Virginia.
    Kolakoswki also noted that Bedford has a lot of old industrial buildings. He said that it would be useful if the buildings’ owners could get assistance to either renovate them for reuse, or demolish them. He said that it makes no sense to build factories in the woods when there are places, like Bedford, where the infrastructure to support a factory is already in place.
    Phil Foster owns Fosteck Corporation, which is located in one of Bedford’s old industrial buildings. Foster told the gathering that he got started there 15 years ago and employs 15 people manufacturing plastic and rubber raw materials which are sold to other manufacturers as a raw material.
    “We started out resurrecting one of the old factories,” he said.
    Foster is continuing to build here. He recently acquired another manufacturer and is relocating that production here, adding 30 people to his payroll.
    “We are happy to be here, we are growing,” Foster said, adding that he is looking for skilled maintenance electricians.
    Frank Rogers, Bedford County’s assistant county administrator, also spoke. He said that the county seeks diversity so that all the county’s economic eggs aren’t in one basket. Rogers mentioned the  county’s broadband initiative, an effort to make broadband Internet service available throughout the county, as important to economic growth.