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Wyoming Business Council outlines economic 'flywheel' and tightens Business Ready Communities rules amid questions on effectiveness
Summary
Wyoming Business Council CEO Josh Durell presented the agency’s economic-growth approach, defended changes to the Business Ready Communities program and outlined stricter rules to raise the program’s bar. Legislators and public commenters challenged the council on metrics, project success rates and the role of government in economic development.
Wyoming Business Council (WBC) Chief Executive Officer Josh Durell told the Management Audit Committee the agency is shifting emphasis from ‘‘doing things faster’’ to doing the ‘‘right things’’ to reverse long-running economic decline in the state.
Durell described WBC’s economic-growth "flywheel" methodology: diagnose systemic workforce and income trends, back projects that can break the decline cycle, and build local capacity to sustain growth. He cited state-level indicators the WBC views as concerning: flat or declining real GDP per capita, stagnant employment, shrinking median wages, and persistent youth out‑migration. The presentation packet provided to the committee noted prior WBC investments — including roughly $416 million in Business Ready Communities (BRC) projects from 2004–2019 — and argued that BRC and other investments must be managed for measurable return and local fiscal sustainability.
On BRC specifically, Durell said the agency has tightened rules and is shifting the program…
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