POINT-COUNTERPOINT: A clear path forward for economic development
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Observer-Reporter is debuting “Point-Counterpoint,” featuring the opinions of Dave Ball and Gary Stout, two frequent contributors with opposing viewpoints. This month, the newspaper asked: “Washington County Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis have voted to end the longtime county contract with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Should they have terminated the contract?”
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”
The line from “Cool Hand Luke” captures the dispute over the Washington County Commissioners’ decision to end the county’s economic development contract with the chamber of commerce. But the problem goes far beyond communication. It forces us to confront a larger issue: Does Washington County have the economic development system needed to compete in a changing economy?
For more than 20 years, the county has grown, but far too slowly to secure long-term prosperity. Population has increased just 3.6% since 2000, and job growth has been modest at 8 to 9%. County officials and business leaders all recognize the need to accelerate investment and job creation, especially as nearby states – most notably Ohio – aggressively pursue new employers.
There is also broad agreement on the fundamentals of required economic development: modern infrastructure, skilled labor, available sites, housing supply, logistics access, and proximity to interstates, rail, and energy. Washington County possesses many of these strengths but faces several constraints, especially electricity and natural-gas capacity limits that could impede new industrial projects.
Where there is disagreement
The conflict begins over credit and accountability. Industrial parks such as Southpointe, Starpointe, California Technology Park, and Donora Industrial Park support thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in investment. These developments were led by the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County (RACW), the Washington County Council on Economic Development (WCCED), and the Washington Industrial Development Corporation (WIDC) – not the chamber. Additional growth stemmed from the Marcellus Shale boom, Hollywood at The Meadows Casino at The Meadows and broader economic forces.
In terminating the contract, the commissioners argue that the chamber’s claim of $33 million in new investment was unverified and failed to support the $174,000 paid annually to the chamber; that reporting and communication had effectively stopped for a year; and that key responsibilities – such as Local Share Account participation and Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) representation – went unfulfilled. The chamber disputes this. The practical reality, however, is that communication and accountability had broken down long before the contract ended.
Communication failures are symptoms – not causes. The real issue is structural: Washington County does not operate under a unified, strategic economic development system.
The county currently has:
No coordinated economic strategy across agencies;
No shared definitions for key metrics such as “jobs created” or “investment secured”;
No integrated roadmap linking the 2023 Comprehensive Plan to actual recruitment efforts;
No countywide energy capacity strategy;
Limited public reporting and minimal stakeholder engagement.
What’s missing is a disciplined process that aligns agencies, assigns responsibilities, and measures outcomes with transparency. As a result, organizations operate in silos; industrial parks nearing full capacity lack a coordinated expansion plan, and emerging sectors – advanced manufacturing, data centers, research facilities – receive little strategic focus. These were core functions the chamber was contracted to provide, but the county never received them in a consistent, strategic form.
Given this structural weakness, it is no surprise the relationship ultimately collapsed.
That collapse became definitive on Dec. 4, when the chamber demanded $460,000 from the county for alleged breach of contract and threatened litigation. With the chamber choosing litigation over partnership, the path ahead is clearer – and it no longer includes the chamber.
A path forward
Washington County must replace the old model with a modern, accountable system built on strategic vision, clarity, transparency, and measurable results.
With the chamber out of consideration, the next responsible step is for the commissioners to issue a competitive Request for Proposal to firms with proven economic-development expertise.
The RFP should include:
A limited but renewable contract linked directly to performance;
A requirement for a comprehensive strategy integrating the County Comprehensive Plan with RACW, WCCED, WIDC, and other agencies;
Clear annual targets – leads, site visits, conversions, investment secured, jobs created;
Quarterly public reporting;
Defined communication protocols and deliverables;
Clarified roles among all agencies to eliminate duplication and conflict.
A clean-slate, performance-driven approach ensures clear expectations, measurable progress, and real value for taxpayers.
Economic development succeeds not through conflict or inertia, but through clarity, coordination, and accountability. A competitive, professional process aligned with the 2023 Comprehensive Plan – and anchored in measurable performance – offers Washington County its best opportunity to accelerate growth and build a stronger future.
Washington County is moving into a new era. These changes are overdue, necessary, and aimed squarely at improving the economic future of everyone who lives and works here.
Dave Ball is former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.