CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State officials estimate the state’s budget surplus for this fiscal year is in the neighborhood of $1 billion. Much of that is the result of federal pandemic relief money, but the Justice administration said some of it is a result of a growing economy within the state.
Priorities for the excess funds are laid out in the budget approved by the Legislature last weekend. Officials plan to allocate $600 million dollars toward economic development. Part of that funding, $200 Million, will be directed toward a fund in the state’s checkbook from which the Economic Development office has borrowed in recent years.
It leaves $400 million, a substantial amount, in the bank to help lure companies toward investing in West Virginia. Mitch Carmichael, the state’s economic development secretary, said the money will go a long way since West Virginia is now starting to land more and more projects.
“This money will be used to create jobs and opportunities in our state. We’ve generated a great track record over the past year and West Virginia is frankly on fire in terms of growth and development,” Carmichael said on MetroNews Talkline.
How will the state spend $600 million in economic surplus funds that are dedicated to economic development? @SecCarmichaelWV explains what will go into this huge project to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/eOGjMesoz9
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) March 16, 2022
His appearance comes a day after Governor Jim Justice announced West Virginia had seen the second highest increase in export growth rate of any state in the past year. The news also came a day after ground was broken on the Omnis project in Mercer County. The California company will invest $40 Million to build a building materials manufacturing plant in Bluefield and create up to 300 jobs.
“We can compete with any other state in America,” said Carmichael.
Much of the funding, according to Carmichael, is used for site preparation, utility installation, or roads and bridges to make a site suitable for a prospective company’s facility. He said it has to be that way to be competitive.
“Those are the types of things these companies need to locate in our state,” he said. “We have a lot to offer in West Virginia, unfortunately, flat land is not part of it in most cases.”
So the state invests significant dollars into project sites in all parts of the state. Carmichael said even if a plan falls through, it’s not a wasted investment since the next company looking for a new location will have another spot to consider.
The Justice Administration has had their share of success in recent months with several big economic development announcements, the biggest being Nucor Steel’s plan to locate in Mason County. Carmichael predicted more to come and said his office is “swamped” with companies looking for potential locations.
“We’re very busy in terms of our sales efforts for West Virginia and it’s really paying dividends. It’s a fantastic time to be in economic development in West Virginia,” he said.