State drops plan to end funds for Forward

The Journal Sentinel staff

A proposed elimination of state money for Forward Wisconsin, a public-private marketing group, has been dropped by the Thompson administration, Development Secretary William J. McCoshen said Tuesday.

Instead, McCoshen and Tommy Thompson want to reduce the state's annual share from $500,000 to $250,000 for both years of the proposed 1995-'97 state budget. Forward, which markets Wisconsin to out-of-state businesses, gets the bulk of its money from the state's $500,000 contribution and $681,500 in private contributions.

Thompson originally wanted to cut the $500,000 in state funding to $250,000, effective July 1, and then eliminate state funding by July 1996. That proposal stunned some Forward supporters, given Thompson's support for the private, non-profit group of which the governor is chairman.

Thompson is trying to cut enough state spending to come up with $1 billion money the state will use to offset cuts in local property tax revenue for school districts.

McCoshen said the new plan reflected Thompson's desire to see Forward continue its job. Also, he said, development officials found a source for the funds: a proposed small-business loan program that would have received $250,000 annually in state money. McCoshen said development officials decided that program would have duplicated a similar program recently started by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Forward's board of directors will discuss McCoshen's proposal at a meeting Wednesday.

In addition to the funding scheme, McCoshen has proposed several items he said would strengthen ties between the Wisconsin Department of Development and Forward. They include:

Moving Forward's main offices in Madison into the department's office, if the department moves to new offices with enough space. Thompson has proposed enlarging the department by shifting jobs to it from other state agencies. If that happens, part of the department's annual contribution to Forward would be for the use of office space.

Possible shared office space in other Wisconsin cities.

Development of a joint strategic marketing plan.

Biweekly meetings between Forward and department officials.

Possible shared promotional and marketing space in each organization's publications.

Under McCoshen's plan, Forward would continue to market Wisconsin to out-of-state businesses, and remain the first point of contact for businesses interested in locating in Wisconsin.

The department would continue to work on retaining Wisconsin businesses and encouraging their expansion; promote international business development and exports from Wisconsin businesses; serve as a liaison between businesses and state government; expedite permits; develop financial incentives for businesses to expand and locate in Wisconsin; and help new and expanding businesses with site selections.

"Our goal is simple: We want to strengthen the bond between the Department of Development and Forward Wisconsin," McCoshen said.

Copyright 1995
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.