Welcome to Mason County Development Authority

Our Purpose

The Delta Queen passing the Gavin Power Plant near 8 Mile Island (photo by Jim Sprouse)

To stimulate and promote the expansion of all kinds of business and industrial activity which will tend to advance business and industrial development and maintain the economic stability of the county, provide maximum opportunities for employment, encourage thrift, and improve the standard of living of the citizens of the county; to cooperate and act in conjunction with other organizations, federal, state or local, in the promotion and advancement of industrial, commercial, agricultural, and recreational developments within the county.

Mason County’s Location

 

 

Here are a few things that you might not know about why West Virginia has become a great place to do business.

Since 2005 West Virginia has seen over $20 billion in new business investments.

1. West Virginia ended the 2012 fiscal year with a surplus of approximately $90 million; the seventh year in a row the state has had a budget surplus – without a tax increase.
2. West Virginia has not increased general business or consumer taxes in 18 years.
3. West Virginia is one of only 18 states that did not borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment compensation benefits. Those loans now total over $24 billion. Each state that borrowed funds began paying the federal government four percent interest in January of 2011.
4. West Virginia exports in 2011 grew by 39.5 percent over 2010 levels reaching a record $9 billion. The state led the nation in export growth. The US export growth rate was 15.8 percent during the same period.
5. West Virginia reduced the business tax burden by $126 million in FY2012 and over $450 million in the last six years.
6. West Virginia has already passed measures, which reduced the state’s corporate net income tax rate from 8.5 percent to 7.75 percent on January 1, 2012, and will reduce to 6.5 percent by 2014.
7. West Virginia will eliminate the Business Franchise Tax by 2015.
8. A 9.1 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates will take effect on November 1, 2012.  Overall rates have decreased by 61 percent (in the aggregate) since the system was privatized on January 1, 2006.
9. West Virginia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 4.5 percent in 2011, the 3^rd highest rate of economic production of any state.
10. West Virginia’s industrial electricity rates are among the lowest in the country – fifth lowest among states east of the Mississippi and 9.6 percent lower than the national average.
11. In the past five years (2006-2011) the state’s per capita income grew by 18.1 percent, or 1.7 times that of the nation’s growth of 10.4 percent. In the last ten years West Virginia’s per capita grew by 37.9 percent compared to the national rate of 32.3 percent.
12. West Virginia’s cost of living is 3.2 percent lower than the national average.
13. West Virginia’s 1^st quarter 2012 home ownership rate is 79.9 percent, the highest rate in the nation.
14. West Virginia was one of only four states to be awarded an “A” by the Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2010. The report found that the state’s economy had done well under its policies of business tax cuts and frugal budgeting.
15. West Virginia moved up 16 places in Forbes “Business Costs” category in the magazines’ annual ranking of the “Best States for Business.” The business costs category is often the single most important factor a company uses in determining the location of a facility. West Virginia ranked 25th in 2007, but moved up to being ranked 9th best in 2011. Moody’s.com ranked West Virginia’s business costs 3rd best for 2010
16. West Virginia’s bond rating has improved in each of the past three years. Moody’s Investor Service elevated the state credit rating from Aa2 up to Aa1. Fitch Ratings, an independent credit rating company, raised the state’s general obligation debt from AA to AA+, the second highest rating possible. Fitch cited the “state’s consistently positive financial operations, including the expansion of reserves and on-going commitment to reducing long-term liabilities.
17. West Virginia in 2012 was ranked 10th in the world (up from 49th in 2010) for the most attractive place for oil and gas development according to a survey by Fraser Institute, a Canadian Conservative Think Tank.
18. According to a 2011 Gallup Poll, West Virginia ranks third in the country for best job creation potential.
19. West Virginia currently has the third best cash reserves as a percentage of general revenue funds in the country, just over 20 percent of the general revenue budget.
20. According to the Council of State Governments, West Virginia tied for second with the largest decline in child poverty from 2000-2009. The state’s child poverty rate is still very high, but while Kentucky saw increases of 4 percent; Tennessee and Ohio had increases of 3 percent, West Virginia’s declined by 2 percent during the same period.
21. West Virginia in 2011 ranked third in the US for best state budget health according to State Budget Solutions (a non-partisan organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, which monitors state government finances and promotes fiscal reform.) The study compared annual expenditures, long-term spending obligations – including future pension liabilities – with all available revenue sources. It ranked West Virginia third for overall best budget surpluses (at a +6.16 percent) behind Wyoming and North Dakota.  The study gave overall rankings to neighboring state’s Virginia-32^nd    (- 47%), Kentucky – 36th (-4.41%), Maryland - 39th (-5.63%), Pennsylvania-43^rd          (-7.65%) and Ohio- 48th (-11.25%).
22. According to the New York Times, between 2007 and 2010 West Virginia ranked third in the nation and was one of only five states to see an increase in the medium income. Monongalia County ranked first in the country for the county with the largest increase during the same period with a 27.3 percent increase.
23. West Virginia ranked third and was one of only eight states in 2010 to add tech jobs to their economy (400).  According to Gallup, West Virginia is tied for seventh among states with businesses that were planning to hire workers in 2011.  The ranking in Gallup’s Job Creation Index compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia on job creation statistics. (State Journal 2/17/2011).
24. West Virginia became the first state in the nation to address OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) debt with passage of comphrehensive legislation during the 2011 legislative session.