Campaign sells Idaho

Idaho is out to make an impression on the rest of the country. Several million impressions, in fact.

By RICK THOMAS
CdA Staff writer

An advertising campaign by economic development specialists in the state targeting California, Portland and Seattle will begin in January.

"People don’t know about Idaho," said Ray Burstedt, president of the Idaho Economic Development Association. "They don’t know they can do what they do in our pristine places. We need to get out there and sell Idaho."

Burstedt was speaking to a group of about 40 Idaho representatives of state and regional agencies Tuesday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Business journals in San Diego, Orange County, San Jose and the Bay area will be the focus, promoting Idaho’s lower cost of doing business.

The average cost of a home in California is $414,000, which means a median income of $70,000 is required to qualify for a loan to purchase that home, said Randi Shroll of the Idaho Department of Commerce.

"There’s been a lot of publicity about everybody attacking California," he said. "We are stepping up our activities there."

Because of that state’s higher costs and Idaho benefits such as lower tax rates, "image advertising" funded by the state has been designed. A $100,000 addition from the Department of Labor to the state’s $120,000 idahoworks.com promotional budget will allow nearly double the reader "impressions" of Idaho, said Shroll.

Shroll said the costs to California businesses for worker benefits, energy and workers’ compensation are 11 times those in Idaho.

"That’s a pretty compelling story," he said. "They can save $200,000 to $250,000 a year by moving to Idaho. That can pay for moving costs."

Among the ways discussed to entice industry was the possibility of forming land-based port districts, but not all agreed the watered-down version of proposed legislation allowing that would be beneficial.

Such a district could freeze property taxes for a predetermined time to encourage a large manufacturing or distributing enterprise, but the value to other organizations could be nonexistent, said David Doeringsfeld, manager of the Port of Lewiston.

Steve Griffitts, president of Jobs Plus in Coeur d’Alene, was unfamiliar with the proposal, spearheaded by state Senator Dick Compton, R-Post Falls, but agreed a lot of time could be wasted attempting to approve a plan that offered only limited advantages.

"It gets down to incentives," Burstedt said. "It sends a message that we’re a state where you can get this kind of thing done."

Among the other matters the group agreed on was a spring meeting, shortly after the end of the Idaho Legislative session.

Tim Solomon, executive director of the Regional Development Alliance in Idaho Falls and chairman of the association’s education committee, proposed the idea.

"I’m deeply concerned that for any legislative issues we want to drive for this session, we’re too late," he said.

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2003/11/19/business/bus01.txt