| CRBJ Charter Member: |
|
|
| CRBJ Home > November 2006 | |||||
Clean up kludge of state handouts, say legislatorsJenny Price
Auditors even used a fictional company located in Columbia County to illustrate the problem. The report said "Company A," a startup launched by scientists and agribusiness leaders to commercialize agricultural products resulting from university research, could be eligible for as many as 22 programs administered by state government agencies. The report, released this fall, recommended state officials identify programs that are either outdated and efforts that are duplicated as well as improve tracking methods for monitoring the long-term success of companies that get aid. The Republican-led Joint Audit Committee is drafting legislation to eliminate some economic development programs. Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, one of the its co-chairs, has said the bill would create one-stop shopping for businesses looking for grants, loans and tax credits rather than having eight different state agencies responsible for administering programs. The legislation also would call for a regular report from state officials on how economic development programs are succeeding in creating more jobs. The report from the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau broke down in detail the $180 million in grants and loans distributed to businesses, individuals and local governments from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2005. The Capital Region received $42 million in grants and loans -- one-fourth of the total given out statewide -- with Dane and Rock counties collecting the majority of that money. The other seven counties all received aid from the programs, but some fared much better than others. Green County ranked No. 1 among all counties in the amount of money it received per capita -- about $120 -- in grants and loans for economic development programs. The statewide average was $30.38 per capita. Green County's rank was affected by four grants totaling nearly $3 million going to Monroe-based Badger State Ethanol and $1 million to Stoughton Trailers' Brodhead plant. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Iowa County got just $4.60 per capita in the time period studied, ranking 68th out of 72 counties. The county got just over $100,000 in grants and loans, despite a per capita income of $27,308, which is below the state average. Paul Ohlrogge, community resource development agent for UW-Extension in Iowa County, said the area's unemployment rate has remained relatively low because of the presence of major employer Lands' End. The county's not getting a larger share of state aid could be due to not having a countywide economic development corporation, something Ohlrogge said local leaders are in talks to start up. "It does put us at somewhat of a competitive disadvantage, in my opinion," he said. "We don't have full-time staff to look at this." The same is true for Dodge County, which also does not have anyone devoted full time to obtaining economic development grants, according to Dean Perlick, manager of planning and economic development. The county ranked 31st in the amount of loans and grants it received per capita even thought its unemployment rate exceeds the state average and its per capita income is $26,048, well below the statewide average of $30,585. Some programs are required to target economically distressed areas, including those with higher unemployment rates, poverty rates and lower incomes. The audit revealed eight counties did not meet those criteria but got $1 of every $5 the state spent on economic development programs. Legislators on the audit committee are using that statistic and the audit's other findings to argue for more oversight of how the money is distributed. Jenny Price is a Madison freelance writer. jenny.price@gmail.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
|
||||