Three years into Clark County’s fee-waiver program for commercial development, the problem is clear — nobody knows whether it is working.
Oh sure, County Councilor David Madore is convinced. Madore, who championed the program in 2013, often lauds it for generating growth and jobs in the county. But Madore has demonstrated over the years that he is impervious to naysayers or dissenting opinions, rarely allowing facts to interfere with his vision of reality.
Because of that, the fact that county officials are examining the program is a welcome relief. Regardless of how one feels about waivers, Madore was short-sighted in not calling for examinations or measurements or metrics to assess it. From the start, it has been government by demagoguery rather than reason; leadership by fanaticism rather than logic.
According to a recent report by The Columbian, Clark County has waived fees for about 370 projects, totaling $3.9 million in application fees and a projected $8.3 million in traffic-impact fees. Because the waiver does not apply to residential development, many of the costs for planning and traffic improvements are passed along to those developers, who likely pass them along to homebuyers and renters.
In 2014, the Clark County Auditor’s Office examined the program and concluded that most of the development touted by Madore would have taken place even without the fee waivers. It also determined that the program was potentially unsustainable, and that most of the resulting jobs were low-income fast-food or service positions. County Auditor Greg Kimsey recently said, “I applaud Councilor Madore’s intention to promote economic activity in Clark County’s unincorporated area. However, there is no evidence the ‘Job Creation’ resolution has achieved this.”
All of this can be compared with a fee-waiver program adopted by the Vancouver City Council in late 2014. That plan provides tax breaks for companies with 200 or more employees that pay salaries higher than the regional median. The plan also requires development agreements to ensure the companies are holding up their end of the bargain. The city’s fee waivers are measurable, sustainable and thoughtful, targeting businesses that actually have an impact on the local economy and the local tax base.
Clark County’s plan, to the contrary, is one born of disillusionment. Proponents claim that 3,157 jobs have been created by developers taking advantage of the fee waivers, but a Columbian investigation of the 10 largest projects revealed that three of those are empty fields and three are under construction. For example, CC Land Development has received $30,114 in fee waivers since applying for them in August 2014, yet no construction has been started.
Such facts have not prevented Madore from chortling on Facebook: “Our business friendly pro-jobs fee waiver resolution is still in place as free enterprise is still free in Clark County. And entrepreneurs are still doing what they do best, create new wealth for all of us.” If there were evidence to support such assertions, we would be chortling right along with Madore. But to this point his fee-waiver program is supported only by his theories and his alone — with few facts to back them up.
As Acting County Manager Mark McCauley said: “What we’re trying to do is compare the numbers in the fee-waiver program with actual results on the ground.” Those results will be a revelation for taxpayers throughout the county, allowing them to finally provide a realistic assessment of the program.
