AGENDA DATE: 5/3/2023
TITLE:
Title
Defense Sector Regional Economic Impact
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Receive a presentation on the economic impact of the defense sector in the Albemarle-Charlottesville-Greene region
ITEM TYPE: Regular Information Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Henry
PRESENTER (S): Trevor Henry, Col. Lettie Bien, Defense Affairs Program Manager
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Defense Affairs Committee (DAC) of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has a mission to “foster economic vitality by further strengthening the alliance of relationships among the Chamber, the Chamber network, the Central Virginia community, the regional defense & intelligence community, and our veterans.” Albemarle County has participated in the DAC through its inception in 2009 and has been a financial sponsor of the Defense Affairs Program Manager within the Chamber of Commerce in order to support the success of the DAC in meeting its mission, in recognition of the importance of the defense industry in the local economy and in the broader community.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Economic Prosperity - Foster an environment that stimulates diversified job creation, capital investments, and tax revenues that support community goals.
DISCUSSION: The DAC engaged with the Weldon Cooper Center in 2022 to undertake an economic impact analysis of the defense sector in the region. The study used an input-output analysis and included the impacts of several major entities and components that account for Department of Defense and military veteran spending in the region. The total direct regional economic impact is 3,972 jobs, $421 million in labor income, $501 million in value-added, and $642 million in output, with indirect and induced impacts stemming from this activity totaling 7,347 jobs, $618 million in labor income, and $831 million in value-added, and $1.2 billion in output. The complete study is provided as Attachment A.
BUDGET IMPACT: There is no budget impact associated with this presentation.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Board receive the presentation.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - The Defense Industry’s Economic Impact on the Charlottesville Region