Christmas - the Guiding Light(s)

No, I am not referring to a Christmas carol or song. And no, not a Christmas movie either. 

Christmas is a time for family, love, forgiveness, and most importantly, to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  

It is also a time for dozens of Christmas movies that all have the same plot, just different locations and names. However, that is for another post.

This post is about the joy of family, fun and beauty in creating, and most importantly, the guiding light or in this case lights. Fun as in playing games.  Creating as in, ummm, unique Christmas cookies. More on this later. 

In most of the families you have the one person who is the guiding light on Christmas. This person takes charge, organizes tree and other decorating, cooking, shopping, gift ideas, fun, and most importantly, maintains traditions.  I am fortunate (or not) to have two in my life. One is my wife, the other one is my sister.  

Both have Christmas in their hearts year round and are seldom afraid to show it (or impose it).  As my sister informed me, we would be cooking Christmas eve dinner. She really does not like people in her kitchen, but as she told my mom years ago, I was okay because I took instruction well.  Hey, sometimes you have to play the supporting role. Honestly, those of you who know me, wouldn't you hesitate with your fork if I told you I prepared dinner?

I digress.  

Tradition as in the family Christmas trees. Pictures follow. These are unique to our family. Why, because of the special ornaments.  In our family, my parents gave my sister and me a new special ornament to hang on the tree every Christmas.  In fact, in my parents's home, we needed two trees after a couple of decades of this tradition.  Some of the ornaments were home made. Others reflect the personality of the individual to whom the ornament is given.  After we decorate our tree, I know it is ours and could not go into anyone else's home. My sister and wife continue this fun tradition. 

Creating as in these bags my niece made for my kids.  These bags held the ornaments she made for them in class.  Her ornaments were certainly beautiful, but I really like the bags. 

Fun as in playing a game, like Monopoly.  The kids are playing as we prepare the Christmas Eve dinner. My sister and I played a round with them. My advice, show no mercy to anyone, especially family. 

After years of Christmas celebrations, I came to this conclusion. The celebration of Christmas is about combining old and cherished traditions while creating new ones.  We do this with new people, like a spouse or child.  What is an example of a new one?  Ask my son about the stuffing we eat on Christmas and he can likely recite the recipe. 

The guiding lights (my sister and wife) are the keepers and they build on traditions handed down from current and past family members.  My wife and sister are the ones who remember, remind, reinforce, revise, and rework these traditions. It is likely a strong and vibrant passion they both have.  My family is fortunate.  I am very grateful that I have not one, but two bright and shining lights. 

As for my comments about the cookies, you decide. If they do not scare you, then you too have the spirit of Christmas. 

Inside Story on an Economic Development Project and Incentive Negotiation

Numerous articles have been written about economic development projects, the process and incentive negotiations. Among the latest is the Elon Musk and Tesla $5 billion capital investment and 6,500 jobs announcement to be located in Nevada. Fortune magazine and Peter Elkind did an outstanding job describing the timeline and interviewing key players.  I realize that this is somewhat dated, but it still worth a few words. 

This article is fascinating for several reasons. The first one is the sophistication of the Tesla team. The second one is several states at various times told the Tesla team we cannot honor your request. The third is the level of detail in the article. Fourth is the intense competition from seven states. Finally, the article gives a very good understanding of what this type of economic development is.

And what is economic development in this article? It is a zero sum game, you either win or lose. You do not get a trophy for second place. Economic development in part is about improving citizens lives and providing opportunities to do so. One of the best ways? A good job with a cutting edge company and/or in a leading industry. Economic development in this area is about competition or how do I ensure my community continues to make the cut. After all, it is about elimination, not about inclusion. Economic development is about analysis. The Tesla team kept asking or increasing the incentive demands. As some point, each state or area said no, our best deal is on the table. Economic development is about justification. The Tesla team would not have considered any area that did not make business sense. Incentives are icing and cannot make a bad deal good. Finally, economic development is not always about the biggest incentive package winning. At least not this this case.

It is worth noting that Elon Musk, COB and CEO of Tesla, in 2007 negotiated a lucrative deal with New Mexico staff to build an auto assembly factory. Tesla then promptly abandoned New Mexico when California offered a richer incentive package. The Tesla team later said the New Mexico site would not work. Frankly, I find that hard to believe. Generally, by the time a sophisticated company team gets to serious incentive negotiating, the business case for the project in a specific location has been satisfied. In fact, I think the project was likely unworkable, not the New Mexico site. As you read the Fortune article, you will see the facility was built in California, experienced numerous production challenges and almost went into bankruptcy.

As you read the article, note the high level of sophistication of the Tesla team. They started out with an Excel spreadsheet covering 90 issues like labor availability, environmental issues, infrastructure needs, etc.

Additional Links:

Fortune Magazine article

http://fortune.com/inside-elon-musks-billion-dollar-gigafactory/

Tesla Project Description

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teslamotors.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fblog_attachments%2Fgigafactory.pdf&ei=illxVM3gC83IsASdo4DADg&usg=AFQjCNHI8MIEVnbApnotW_YmhQ6f7RF9Ag

Nevada Project, Incentive and Proposed Legislation Summary.

http://diversifynevada.com/documents/Teslas_Gigafactory_Incentive_Summary_PDF.pdf

Economic Impact Analysis

http://diversifynevada.com/documents/Full_Tesla_Summary_Report_Analysis_Letters.pdf

Budgeting Takes Extensive Preparation

In a previous post I wrote about the County Revenue Committee, an ad hoc group that seeks counsel from numerous sources as the budget and revenue projections are drafted.

Several people I know think government spending is on automatic pilot.  Department heads ask and they receive.  Spending grows with no thought of the taxpayer.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

On November 21st the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) held the FY 2107 Fiscal Year Retreat. This is when the BOCS meets to review the previous FY budget and discuss the next FY budget and options. It was a detailed agenda.  Budget staff works tirelessly on preparing for the retreat.

Prior to the FY retreat, department heads were asked to prepare documentation on their requests and rank order these recommendations.  At a department head meeting all the requests were consolidated, discussed, reviewed, and prioritized. These are then given to the budget staff for incorporation into the materials for the FY retreat.

I know this sounds boring and tedious, but it is a worthwhile exercise.  The following link will take you to the Powerpoints prepared for the retreat.  Note the last one titled "Preparing for the FY2017 Budget:  Five-Year Plan, Must-Do Items, and Unmet Needs." Link to this presentation:  http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/budget/Documents/04--Must-Dos%20and%20Unmet%20Needs--FINAL_MAC.pdf

Link to the FY2017 Fiscal Year Retreat

http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/budget/Pages/FY2017-Budget-Library.aspx

Dedicated Employees

Last month I had the privilege of attending one of several briefings arranged by staff of the Prince William County Finance Department. These are commonly known as the Revenue Committee presentations.

The Revenue Committee is ad hoc.  It is an interdepartmental group of County employees. I have been fortunate to be a member once. At the end, the members meet and discuss what we have seen and how it could impact County finances.  I know several people will read this and question why.  From my perspective, I see County employees taking steps and efforts to increase their knowledge base to benefit the residents.

Every year finance staff invites regional and state economists, association experts, local developers, and others to share with us their take on the past year and how the next year is shaping up.  Invitees cover local, regional and national economy, taxation, commercial and residential development, automotive sales, home sales, etc.

The first one featured presentations from the chief economist for the VA Department of Taxation and the regional research vice president for the Federal Reserve Board based in Richmond.  Between 35-40 County staff attended this one. They are engaged and ask intelligent questions.  

As a taxpayer I appreciate County staff taking such measures to get the best picture of revenues and possible challenges.  As any manager will tell you, a budget is an excellent indicator of the priorities of an organization.  The County staff takes budgeting very seriously and the Revenue Committee is just on example.