Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown Co-Chairs NGA Center for Best Practices Mission Growth Working Group Meeting
Welcomes officials from 16 mission growth states, leads dialogue on best practices concerning BRAC expansion
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (July 30, 2008) – Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown welcomed to Annapolis this week officials from 16 other states poised to see population and job growth due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and other growth in support of the U.S. Department of Defense’s mission. In addition to chairing Maryland’s BRAC Subcabinet, Brown, a Democrat, serves as co-chair, alongside Georgia State Senator Seth Harp, a Republican, of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices Mission Growth Working Group.
“Under Governor O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland is setting the national standard for BRAC preparations and I am honored to have had the opportunity to share our stories of success and progress with representatives from other states who face similar challenges,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “Governor O’Malley and I believe that good ideas do not come with partisan or regional labels and that they ought to be shared. That is what brought us all together this week and I look forward to sharing my experiences with the NGA Working Group with Governor O’Malley and the BRAC Subcabinet.”
“Lt. Governor Brown and the State of Maryland have been wonderful hosts this week,” said Georgia State Senator Seth Harp. “This forum has facilitated a great exchange of ideas and best practices about what we all are doing to handle BRAC in our respective states.”
During the two-day meeting, representatives set a course of action and identified three challenges – transportation, workforce creation, and education – that sit atop the priority list of most mission growth states. The working group is expected to produce written reports on the best practices being used in states to address and move past each of these challenges. The working group will also identify barriers that can be eliminated to better access federal programs.
Lt. Governor Brown noted that the priority challenges identified by the working group are the same priority challenges identified by the Maryland BRAC Subcabinet and cited several of the best practices the state is employing to meet those challenges, notably on workforce and transportation.
Maryland Secretary of Transportation John Porcari, who held the same position in the 1990s when Patuxent River Naval Air Base expanded, presented to the work group on the implementation of Maryland’s BRAC transportation strategy. Porcari said that Maryland faces immediate transportation challenges to prepare for the arrival of BRAC personnel in 2011, but noted a typical transportation projects takes 12 years to plan, design and construct. To address both the immediate and the long-term priorities, MDOT has implemented a “high/low” infrastructure investment strategy that delivers cost-effective improvement that can be implemented quickly while pursuing higher-cost and higher-capacity projects designed to improve regional mobility over time.
“We had a good exchange of ideas at the NGA conference with other BRAC-impacted states,” said Porcari. “Maryland’s ‘high/low’ strategy seemed to resonate with representatives from other states, since we all face the same challenges – time and money. BRAC creates new needs without funding sources. We must prioritize projects to be completed in the short-term, while continuing to plan for our long-term needs.”
Maryland has been uniquely aggressive in its efforts to retain military and civilian personnel to sustain workforce needs to meet the BRAC 2011 deadline. The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has opened One Stop Employment Information Centers in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and will soon open another in Northern Virginia to help educate potential workers about licensing, employment, housing and other Maryland information. In addition, Lt. Governor Brown and members of the BRAC Subcabinet have held regular meetings with the commands of incoming military missions.
Brown and Harp were appointed co-chairs of the committee in 2007 by their respective governors, Martin O’Malley and Sonny Purdue. Maryland and Georgia are slated to see some of the greatest benefits of mission growth and BRAC activity over the next five to ten years. Maryland estimates that 60,000 jobs will be created in the state because of BRAC and expects to welcome up to 28,000 new households. Georgia officials expect to see the creation of as many as 4,000 military and civilian jobs because of the BRAC 2005 decisions.
“Mission growth is an important issue for the states and we are looking forward to helping them develop best practices for addressing the related challenges and opportunities,” said Tara Butler, Program Director, Federal Facilities, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.
The NGA Center for Best Practices Mission Growth Working Group was established in 2007 to enhance the relationship between states, military communities and military bases. The NGA’s efforts are supported by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment. This working group is the only state group established with the support of the DoD to focus singularly on those challenges and issues made significant because of BRAC and other mission growth activities.