Guv pushes stimulus plan

Budget unveiled, 'aggressive' effort for growth urged

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Matt McClain / The Rocky

Gov. Bill Ritter unveils his $19.2 billion budget to the news media Thursday. He also proposed an economic stimulus plan that calls for declaring Nov. 20 Keep Colorado Working Day, which will feature seven regional job fairs.

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Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday unveiled his proposed $19.2 billion budget, promoted an immediate state stimulus package to take effect this year and laid the groundwork for future economic growth.

But it was the second part of his presentation to the legislature's Joint Budget Committee that revealed the governor's sense of urgency on getting a handle on the economic woes saddling the state and swamping the nation.

"As you know, we are in an extremely tough time nationally and internationally," Ritter said. "To date, Colorado seems to have been somewhat buffered from the worst parts of it. Again, that's just for now. It's important that our economic development efforts be aggressive in this environment."

The governor's stimulus plan featured declaring Nov. 20 Keep Colorado Working Day. The effort, directed by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, will include seven regional job fairs to connect employers with those seeking work.

There are plenty.

The state's number of unemployed stood at 142,900 in September, according to labor department spokesman Bill Thoennes. That's a rate of 5.2 percent - up 33,900 people from September 2007 when the rate was 4 percent.

Attacking joblessness

To combat it, the state has launched a Web site that allows those seeking work to access - free of charge - job listings and also allows employers to connect with job hunters.

The multipronged attack on unemployment also includes having the state host Small Business Finance Forums throughout Colorado. Ritter, partnering with the U.S. Small Business Administration, hopes the state's more than 550,000 small businesses will be able to navigate a tight credit market that has been frozen for months.

Greg Lopez, district director for the SBA, said small businesses account for $25 billion in economic impact throughout the state.

"We truly believe small business is the backbone of Colorado," he said. "The SBA has taken a statewide leadership role to reach out to small business owners in these turbulent times."

But Ritter's proposed budget for next fiscal year and $12 million stimulus package were met with some criticism.

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, blasted one of the centerpieces of Ritter's long-term strategy of growing jobs in a new alternative energy economy. May suggested Ritter's focus was misguided and said the governor should be making it easier for oil and gas development.

"Of course we need to continue to develop the new energy economy," May said. "But not at the expense of other Colorado jobs that aren't on the governor's pet project list."

Thoennes, however, said the renewable energy job market is "an up-and-comer" with 1,095 jobs as of 2007. He said while it pales in comparison to the 43,237 jobs in the fossil fuel sector, renewable energy is showing a lot of potential for growth.

'Limited resources'

Ritter's proposal seeks to piggyback on that by providing $2.5 million for community colleges to train people in such fields as renewable energy and create a work force that is attractive to incoming businesses.

There are currently 79 businesses in Colorado that fall under the category of renewable energy companies.

"These are investments we really believe will play to our strengths and result in high dividends and strong returns on investments," Ritter said.

But some members of the JBC said Ritter's stimulus plan would take money away from other needs.

Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, questioned diverting money from repairing bridges that are in dire shape for what he said sounded like "a bailout-type of situation."

"I just can't imagine that with our limited resources . . . we're freezing certain things in state government," Tapia said. "We have bridges falling apart, we have roads that need to be repaired, we have people on the developmentally disabled list - there are a lot of things we need in our state that we're not getting to."

Ritter's economic development proposal

* Invest up to $12 million

* Establish a Web site - connectingcolorado.org to link potential employers with those seeking work

* Establish a renewable energy economy with job-training programs run by community colleges and private businesses

* Declare Nov. 20 as Keep Colorado Working Day and put on seven regional job fairs

* Colorado Workforce Centers to hold open houses on Nov. 20

* Create an Access to Capital initiative to make credit more available for small businesses.

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