Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 2.25.15

30 | FEBRUARY 25, 2015
ONE VALLEY,
BUSINESS MONTHLY FLATHEADBEACON.COM ECONOMIC INDICATORS
ONE VISION Kellie Danielson Attracting Manufacturing
M Business Investment
UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY STATES (DEC.) 11TH LOWEST: Montana 4.2%
LOWEST:
N. Dakota 2.8%
AVERAGE GAS PRICES BY STATE
HIGHESTHAWAII $ 3.0 3 /gal.
LOWEST UTAH $ 1 . 9 2
ONTANA WEST HAS THE PLEASURE OF working with business owners from out of state who are considering the Flathead as a place to
/gal. $ 1 . 9 9 /gal.
expand their business. One of the most frequently asked questions from business investors is, “What business in- centives exist to assist with the long-term investment of my company?”
Montana has fewer business incentives compared to other states but there are some incentives, mostly offered from our state government. When I worked for the State of Kansas in new facility investment attraction, the state leadership would always ask the local government what it was doing locally to attract this business. The state want- ed to see the local government participate and not rely on the state to carry 100 percent of the effort. With rural loca- tions, leveraging partnerships to maximize economic re- sources is critical.
I believe the Flathead does this well, but there is room for improvement. The county and cities have statutory au- thority to provide pro-rata property tax relief on the front- end of manufacturing business investment. The decision- makers of the business are faced with where to select a location, (city or county), to invest in with their manufac- turing operation. The business owner making this deci- sion desires to see a “pro-business attitude” from the lo- cal leadership.
There are plenty of choices of cities and counties for the business owner to select to build their business, and plenty of cities and counties with a pro-business attitude, making it easier for that business owner to choose a city or county that agrees to commit economic development tools to off- set the start-up or expansion costs of investing in a new fa- cility, inventory, workforce, and for some, relocation costs.
The city of Columbia Falls does have a policy to provide the property tax incentive to manufacturers making new business investment. The value of manufacturing is em- braced in Columbia Falls. Our goal is to ensure the Flat- head is on the business investor’s priority list.
Montana West is reaching out to the cities and county to provide information to elected officials about the prop- erty tax incentive for manufacturing, asking the local gov- ernments to consider adopting a policy on the topic. A poli- cy in place will assist Montana West and local government with an immediate response to the inquiry, rather than dancing around the topic. I believe the incentive is a win- win for the local government, the investing business, and residents to attract manufacturing jobs.
Kellie Danielson is CEO and President of Montana West Economic Development and Flathead County Economic De- velopment Authority, which are both based in Kalispell. For more information visit www.dobusinessinmontana.com/.
Brrrrr...
MONTANA (3RD CHEAPEST)
GLACIER PARK INT'L AIRPORT STATS (DEC.)
NATIONAL AVERAGE
HIGHEST:
DEPARTURES
5.7%
Mississippi 7.2%
2013 2014
0
0
13,648
14,584
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
MONTANA EMPLOYMENT CHANGE BY INDUSTRY (DEC.)
5,000 10,000 15000
20,000
Natural Resources and Mining
Construction 9% Manufacturing 0.5% Trade, Transportation and Utilities 0.2% Information 0%
2013
2014
ARRIVALS
5,000
14,830 16,049
Financial Activities
Professional & Business Services
Education & Health Services
Leisure & Hospitality 0%
HOUSING STATISTICS
IN FLATHEAD COUNTY (2014)
Other Services
Government 0.2%
Montana’s total employment levels increased by 829 jobs over the last month, with 12,663 jobs added since last December. Payroll employment estimates indicate a gain of 3,100 jobs over the month, with large gains in the construction industry.
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY MONTANA COUNTIES (DEC.)
Residential Sales Residential Land Sales
0%
5%
10%
15% 20%
-0.92% 36.68
Listed in trading price at market closing on and percent change from Jan. 23 to closing on Feb. 23.
Lincoln 11.5% Sanders 10.8% Glacier 10.5% Mineral 9.8% Big Horn 8.5% Granite 7.8% Petroleum 7.5% Flathead 6.2% Lake 6.1% Ravalli 6%
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE NASDAQ
S & P 500
PLUM CREEK (PCL)
-0.18% 18,107
-0.05% 4,953
-0.10% 2,108
+0.07% 43.21
-0.12% 25.10
-0.77% 24.60
-0.09% 54.23
SOURCE: Montana Department of Labor & Industry
0% 0.5% 0.1%
2011 2012 2013 2014
1,029 1,333 1,539 1,504 197 327 527 498
SOURCE: Jim Kelley at Kelley Appraisal in Kalispell
-0.5%
1%
It’s not too late to winterize your home!
Valley Glass, your window & door experts can help!
Stop by one of our showrooms today!
Valley Glass, Inc.
Kalispell 257-9200 Columbia Falls 892-9757 Polson 883-5055
MONDAY - FRIDAY 8AM - 5PM
www.valleyglassmt.com | Custom sizing, professional installation and free estimates by your Valley Glass experts!
MONTH IN STOCKS
APPLIED MATERIAL (AMAT) GLACIER BANK (GBCI) NORTHWESTERN ENERGY (NWE) CENTURYLINK (CTL)
Experts Since 1966
10,000
15,000 20,000
SOURCE: Glacier Park International Airport
SOURCE: GasBuddy.com