The Clark County Auditor’s Office released a report on Tuesday finding that the county’s Job Creation – Fee Waiver Program is largely ineffective. The report calls on the Board of Commissioners to eliminate or make significant changes to the program, which was created in 2013 to spur economic development by removing permit application and traffic impact fees on commercial building projects.
The audit claims that while 115 jobs have been added by fee waiver recipients, the program is not cost effective and that many of the projects awarded fee waivers would have occurred anyway.
Further, according to the report, the majority of jobs created and forecast are in the retail, food, and consumer service industries – jobs that are unlikely to measurably reduce the number of out-of-county commuters, which was one of the program’s goals.
“Since the inception of the Job Creation – Fee Waiver Program, the Board of County Commissioners and citizens have expressed interest in measuring its success,” said Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey. “This audit does that and the evidence shows many of the fee waivers awarded are not driving business growth or new jobs.”
To read the report from the Auditor’s Office in full, visit www.clark.wa.gov/auditor/audit/audreports.html.
To read Clark County Commissioner David Madore’s “evidence-based response” to the audit, visit www.clark.wa.gov/thegrid/documents/112514FeeWaiverAuditResponse_000.pdf and look for an exclusive interview with Madore in the Friday, November 28 edition of the VBJ.
