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What’s value of shovel-ready state seal?

By GREG PECK ( Contact ) Thursday, December 20, 2012 - 2:37 p.m.

As The Gazette’s Jim Leute reported Wednesday, state officials came to Rock County this week to announce “Certified in Wisconsin” development sites in Janesville and Beloit.

This might have you scratching your head. Weren’t these sites certified as “shovel-ready” two years ago?

Well, that’s right. So why spend more money for yet another certification, who’s picking up the bill, and is the money well spent? If these designations are so valuable, why hasn’t anyone started digging already?

We’ll share our perspectives in our editorial Friday.

Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook

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(4)

garyprimer
Dec 21, 2012 at 9:13 a.m.
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Bureaucratic boondoggle.

gray_ghost
Dec 21, 2012 at 12:36 a.m.
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waste of money.

janesvillean
Dec 20, 2012 at 3:16 p.m.
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The difference is that the previous designation was a private business group, and this is from the state. Presumably that's something that puts the Wisconsin Commerce former-Department-thingy behind promoting it, but I have to agree that the practical value of being shovel-ready is minimal compared with other aspects a potential shovel-turner might want. There was a preference for "shovel-ready" development in the federal stimulus, but that's all in the past now. The issue for businesses isn't having a site, it's having financing and yes, some part of that is tax incentives from state or local officials.

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