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July 2015
We are in the process of sifting through impact of the adopted operating and capital budgets on Commerce programs, services and staff.
As Governor Inslee said at the bill signing late last Tuesday evening, this budget is "forward-thinking, responsible, and fair" and it is good for the people of Washington. It is also the result of compromise. Commerce's executive team and budget analysts are evaluating this new budget. On the whole, we have some wins to celebrate and we also have some significant changes to manage. There is still uncertainty as the Legislature tackles the work remaining to get to sine die.
I will be sharing a detailed budget update in a separate bulletin as soon as we have complete details. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have pressing questions.
Increased
homelessness is a challenge faced by communities across the state. In addition
to the human services need it creates, homelessness is just as much about
economic development. Adequate affordable housing is a key issue that
communities must address when planning for their future growth – it’s essential
to build a community that attracts and retains people and employers.
Governor Inslee recently met with partners and
agency leaders to review the status of our efforts to end homelessness in
Washington state. Commerce is a member of Results Washington Goal Council #4
addressing Healthy and Safe Communities, and we are accountable for a performance
measure to decrease homelessness in our state by 10% by 2015.
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 The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) spent more than $13 billion in Washington state in 2013, supporting more than 112,500 jobs and $6.3 billion in payroll in communities around our state, with the largest concentrations of military personnel in Pierce, Kitsap, Spokane and Snohomish Counties. DOD is now in the process of reducing America’s military installations and our state will not be spared. We expect final numbers to come mid-month, with the largest impact likely coming at JBLM in Pierce County.
Governor Inslee launched a Subcabinet on Military Downsizing to ramp up our preparations for the coming reductions. The Washington Military Alliance is an organization of public and private partners representing communities, business, education and workforce interests throughout the state that began this work in earnest more than a year ago. June 26 in Spokane the WMA formalized its charter and elected an Executive Board. WMA is working closely with the Governor’s subcabinet to ensure that we have a rapid and effective response to the pending DOD base realignment announcements.
Co-Chairs of the WMA Executive Board are Rich Hadley, representing the Association of Washington Business (AWB) and former President and CEO of Greater Spokane, Inc., and John Powers from Kitsap County Economic Development Alliance. Tiffany Spier, of the South Sound Military and Communities Partnership, and Gary Brackett, Tacoma Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, were also named to the Executive Board. Kristine Reeves, Economic Development Lead for the Military and Defense Sector, serves as Executive Director of WMA.
Together, we are all focused on providing a way forward for those who may be impacted.
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Another popular competitive ranking of Top States for Business came out last week from
CNBC. Washington slipped one notch from last year to #8 in the 2015 list,
although we topped out at #1 for “technology and innovation.” So what’s in a
ranking like this? Sometimes it’s hard to say. We’re proud to be in the Top 10
states for business once again, but it’s also important to keep these reports
in perspective.
Commerce tracks about a dozen major state
competitiveness reports. We keep a fairly large dataset with over 200
individual metrics from these studies.
 Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chairman of
Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings Co. Professor Lebin Wu in Washington D.C.
on June 24. Our collaboration on low-carbon energy development includes proposed gas-to-methanol projects with potential to bring an estimated $3.4 billion in investment and hundreds of jobs to the communities in and around the Ports of Kalama and Tacoma.
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“These forward-thinking
projects help create and sustain a thriving economic climate and strengthen our
ability to lead in the global economy. Washington is a great state in which to
live, work and play, thanks to visionary leadership in our local communities
such as those we celebrate today.” --- Gov. Jay Inslee
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“Everyone involved in
this project got creative to find the resources to make this possible. These
collaborative and innovative efforts of Snohomish County, Washington State and the
City of Mukilteo speak to the best of government, and show how we can and do work
together to solve problems. This is what good government is all about.”
--- Snohomish County
Executive John Lovick
Mark Barkley (far right), Commerce Assistant Director for Local Government, joined in presenting Snohomish
County with a $650,000 cash Advanced Planning Grant on June 15. The grant was
used to purchase advance traffic mitigation from the City of Mukilteo to
expedite future aerospace development permitting in the Paine Field Aerospace
Business Park. This grant was not only the largest Advanced Planning Grant ever
awarded by the state, but also the first state grant to be used to purchase
advance traffic mitigation. The City will apply those fees specifically to
improve the flow of traffic through the intersection of SR525 and Beverly Park
Road.
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Congratulations Kathy
Kinard! Governor’s Leadership in Management Award Winner
I am pleased to share with you that Commerce’s Kathy Kinard
was recently honored by Governor Inslee for her dedicated work to end family
homelessness. She received the Governor’s
Award for Leadership in Management alongside many of her peers in
leadership across state government. Congratulations to Kathy for her
outstanding public service!
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