DOWN EAST REVIEW

If a new plan to revitalize Washington County is correct, Maine has been trying to do the right things for years but not doing them very well. That might be discouraging to those who have been trying to expand economic opportunity Down East, but it also suggests that solutions aren’t far away.

David Flanagan, former president of Central Maine Power, this week reported back to Gov. John Baldacci on ways to improve development in Washington County and his conclusion was, largely: More of the same, only better. Though Maine tries to attract tourists Down East, it should spend more money to be more effective. The governor’s Pine Tree Zones should be extended to more businesses; Washington County should have more financial incentives for businesses, more energy alternatives and more local control of fisheries. One exception: It should have fewer health care costs, according to the report.

One particularly useful section asks why similar undertakings in the past have failed to reverse the decline of the local economy. The answers, in brief, are too many projects for too little funding; a lack of business advocacy by state agencies; funding focused on agency programs rather than on removing business hurdles; and no one with responsibility for expected results.

The report is full of details for improving communications, both infrastructure and human, upgrading roads and expanding knowledge about both opportunities and sources of competition. For instance, it proposes that Maine spend $4 million for four years (about 25 percent of what neighboring New Brunswick spends) to persuade visitors to visit Washington County. The money would be tied into other projects, such as improved traveler information, new cultural heritage resources and the presence of destination resorts.

The cumulative sense from the report is that Maine knows how to make the many reforms and financial investments necessary to improve Washington County’s economy, but needs the long-term commitment – or at least a long-term attention span – to stick with the reforms. No report can answer whether Maine has that commitment. This latest report in a long line of reports about the Washington County at least presents in plain language what is required.