City-County Economic Development Strategic Plan

Kittitas County continues to feel the pressure of growth. The pandemic disrupted us all. The Board of County Commissioners and Ellensburg’s City Council recognized that it was time to update the County’s and City’s planning and investments in economic development. As successful economic development provides jobs and benefits throughout our communities, the City of Ellensburg partnered with Kittitas County to update the County-wide Economic Development Strategic Plan. TIP Strategies, a consulting firm which is familiar with the County, has been engaged to develop the Plan— working with the Council of Governments (COG) ( and other Leaders as a steering committee which guides the project.

Work to date includes industry-centered focus groups (real estate, agriculture, small business, transportation, manufacturing, technology, etc.) and workshops. TIP consultants have also researched county-wide data showing historical trends, creating a baseline to move forward, and a searchable data base to further future analysis.

Additional workshops will begin to shape the future strategies and focus areas for the county-wide strategic plan. A critical component of the plan will be an implementation matrix that identifies responsible parties and potential partnerships, locally and regionally; establishes timeline and sets priorities; includes budget estimate and funding sources; and provides meaningful and realistic performance metrics. The consultant, TIP Strategies, will provide a Year 1 Scorecard to provide feedback on implementation progress for accountability at the one-year anniversary of the plan completion.