Utah Governor Walker focuses on home-grown firms – wants to support companies already in Utah

Home-grown jobs are better than imports, Gov. Olene Walker told Utah County’s top business leaders on Friday.

"I am focused on bringing venture capital into Utah so we can grow our own companies," she said. "We need a strong . . . economy for our kids."

Walker was the keynote speaker at the first-ever Nebo Economic Summit.

By Rodger L. Hardy
Deseret Morning News

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595051962,00.html

That need was readily evident in projections that Utah schools will grow by 145,000 new students over the next 10 years, 8.5 times more than the 17,000 new students entering schools over the past 10 years.

"A tremendous job is ahead of us to meet that demand," she said. "I do not favor companies that are coming into Utah over growing our own."

Walker suggested that government and businesses leaders look at using incentives such as local training dollars to spur growth and job creation.

For Utah County, job growth is likely to be a mix of local growth and companies new to the state. Russ Fotheringham, director of the Utah Valley Economic Development Association, said his organization is currently working with 30 companies — some from within, but most from outside Utah County — involving local sites. That compares to just 10 that contacted the agency in all of 2002. Fotheringham said 10 of the current prospects contacted the association just this month.

Careful planning that includes setting aside space for industrial growth that will build the area’s job base should be part of the process, Walker said. She said such planning will compliment Utah’s reputation for a well-trained work force and excellent quality of life.

"Where else can you ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon?" she asked rhetorically.

Success will have to be earned, however, noted Jonnie Wilkinson, associate director of the Utah Department of Commerce. Like the nation as a whole, job growth in Utah County has been flat. The lone exception has been the food supplement industry where growth has been steady.

The governor said the bulk of new jobs in Utah will likely come from small businesses, which she characterized as the lifeblood of the Utah economy.

Walker said she expects that Wasatch Front and Utah County growth will soon spill into neighboring Juab County, spurring economic development in that area. Water is important to growth — both business and residential — and a proposed pipeline bringing water from the Central Utah Project through Spanish Fork Canyon via Diamond Fork Canyon is critical for Utah and Juab counties.

While Utah businesses have been able to increase production 5 percent during the past two years, that increase has come without the creation of new jobs. Companies have instead squeezed more out of the existing labor force by investing in new equipment and technology, said Jim Robson, a regional economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

Utahns currently have more disposable income because of low interest rates, low inflation and tax cuts and rebates, but have also accumulated more debt, Robson said.

Walker said there will be some inevitable conflict as new urban development encroaches on the remaining farmland.

"I’m familiar with the smells of farmland. It does not mix with urban development," said Walker, who grew up on a farm. "You will have some challenges in growth."

Technology is allowing people to live where they want, contributing to lifestyle and development choices Utahns have never seen before, she said.

Walker said solving transportation issues also need to be addressed. The governor said she supports expanding the number of traffic lanes on I-15 in Utah County and called it her No. 1 highway priority. She expressed some frustration that the Legislature didn’t accept her plan because it would take money from other projects, including widening 800 North in Orem.

Other high-priority road projects include U.S. 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon, considered one of the most dangerous roads in Utah.

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