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Board signs letter supporting Walla Walla City's Opportunity Zone application
Summary
The board authorized a letter of support to the Washington governor's office for two census tracts the City of Walla Walla seeks to nominate for Opportunity Zone 2; staff explained the program is investor-driven and offers capital-gains tax incentives rather than direct state grant dollars.
Walla Walla County commissioners voted May 11 to authorize the board chair to sign a letter to the Washington governor's office supporting the City of Walla Walla's application to designate two census tracts for the Opportunity Zone 2 program.
Emily, a city representative, briefed the board on the program's mechanics and read the two census-tract numbers proposed for nomination. She explained Opportunity Zones are census-tract designations intended to attract private investment through capital-gains tax incentives and are certified by the U.S. Treasury after nomination by the state. "The money tied to it is strictly a capital gains tax break from an investor," Emily said, and she added that the community will need to recruit investors and set up opportunity-zone funds to realize benefits.
Commissioners said they supported the letter and asked a few procedural questions about timing and what the designation means; staff said the new Opportunity Zone program will last seven years under the current schedule and that the city has a timing advantage as a rural jurisdiction. The board approved the motion to authorize the letter of support by unanimous voice vote (3-0).
