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Diversified economy good for country
Agriculture is an economic staple for counties located in the farm belt of our nation, and agricultural counties with a diversified economy have generally seen more job and income growth than those that rely solely on agriculture. We are fortunate to have a food processing sector that adds considerable value to commodity crops. This value- added processing has resulted in major capital investment by a number of food processors on the property tax rolls and a large number of jobs in our community. As a result, our economy has grown and our communities have prospered.
In early 2007, we were reading about record low unemployment for Washington state and for Grant County. Now the state and Grant County are posting high unemployment figures close to the 9 percent to 12 percent we saw in Grant County in the late 1990s. The difference between 2009 and the last time our unemployment was up sharply, is that there are now more people working in Grant County than there were one and two years ago, even though the percentage of unemployment is up from 2007 and 2008. This is quite a paradigm shift that we have not seen here before now.
The increase in employment can be attributed to the recent growth in our local economy. Major industrial projects such as the expansion at REC Silicon, and Moses Lake Industries, the new construction at NORCO, Morse Steel, Guardian Insulation, Specialty Chemical and Titan, all in Moses Lake, have resulted in an in-migration of job-seekers, both for construction and permanent employment.
REC Silicon now has a permanent workforce in Moses Lake of nearly 500. In addition the construction, employment at the facility has ranged from 500 to more than 1,500 during the past 24 months or longer. REC Silicon pays more in property tax in Grant County than any other corporation. The gross property tax bill for REC Silicon for 2009 is more than $5.3 million. These tax dollars help pay for education, health and safety, recreation and more in our community.
Historically, many communities were developed as a result of local resource based industries such as farming, timber or fishing while others may depend mainly on government jobs or tourism. I have not read a report or heard a presentation on community development in 20 years that has advocated a single resource- based economy. Like Moses Lake and Grant County, those communities that are the strongest today have grown their economy by diversifying beyond their core economic engine and have found businesses in other sectors that developed and added jobs and income to the local economic base.
With growing companies like REC Silicon, Microsoft, Yahoo, Intuit, ASK.com, Titan, NORCO, Morse Steel, Guardian Insulation, Specialty Chemical, Genie Industries, Moses Lake Industries, EKA Chemical, Chemicon-Materials, Columbia Colstor, National Frozen Foods, Quincy Foods, JR Simplot, Katana Industries and others located in our county, there is an increased demand for local goods and services that are being provided by a growing number of locally based supplier companies and small businesses that together employ a large number of folks in our community.
I hope that each of you will consider the positive benefits of REC Silicon’s $1 billion-plus expansion project in Moses Lake and the additional diversified economic growth that we have seen take place in Grant County. I hope that you will agree that overall the effects of this growth have been very positive and good for our greater community.
Terry Brewer is the executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council.
The Post-Register gladly accepts guest columns to be printed in the Your Turn section. Columns should be 500 words and on a topic of general interest. Send columns to editor@qvpr.com, or by mail to PO Box 217, Quincy WA 98848.
