Eau Claire (WQOW) - The governor makes a stop in the Chippewa Valley to talk job creation, and
announce a new leader at the helm of a state agency.
Governor Walker recently selected
the interim director of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to lead
the agency permanently.
The governor stopped in Eau Claire along with the
new head of the WEDC. The two spoke about what's next for the corporation, and
about job creation right here in the Chippewa
Valley.
"I turned to him
initially to help us bring some credibility back to the administration and the
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation," says Governor Scott Walker.
That credibility was damaged when
the two-year-old agency failed to keep track of tens of million dollars in
loans to businesses. An independent audit blamed high turnover, a lack of basic
accounting controls, and poor record keeping. Fixing that computer system is
one the first goals on the new CEO's agenda.
"Our computer
system is terribly outdated, and that's one of the reasons the WEDC did not
track the loans as they needed to. It's just not an efficient, workable system,"
says Hall.
He also says collaborating with
local governments needs to be a priority for the corporation.
"Partnerships will
be a key to our growth as we move forward," Hall says.
"It's great that we
work on things regionally because as we attract new businesses and new people
to the area, we all benefit from it," says Russell Van Gompel, the Eau Claire City Manager.
The state and the economic
development corporation are also hoping the creation of "Ready Set Build"
sites: shovel-ready places where new businesses can build, will help drive job
creation. The newest one? The Lake
Wissota Business
Park.
"If a company is
looking to grow, looking to expand, it's one of those unique opportunities
where they can come into the state, look at sites in Wisconsin, and say here's
a site that's been certified, they've looked at it, they've looked at
environmental issues, they've looked at regulatory issues, they've looked at
support from the local community in terms of infrastructure and other supports,"
Governor Walker says.
Governor Walker says with Reed Hall
WEDC remains on track to help the governor with his goal of creating 250,000
new jobs by 2016.
Part of that approach is to create a
new way to track job growth. The pair say the method used now isn't always accurate.
The governor and Hall made stops
across the state Wednesday and will be making more Thursday.
