What makes Bellevue a wonderful place to live, work and play? Many things, of course. A nationally-recognized school district, beautiful parks, great neighborhoods, residents who care enough to get involved — all of these things contribute to our high quality life.

But another important factor – and one largely invisible to many residents – is the city’s ongoing efforts to maintain a vibrant economy by helping businesses grow and invest in our community.

This is important because it keeps our taxes low. A vibrant economy brings in revenues, and eases burdens on residents.

During my service on the council, I have been very involved in these economic development efforts. Working with fellow council members, staff and others, our goal has been to foster a healthy, sustainable business climate that can generate the revenues needed to support first-rate city services and programs.

In recent years, we’ve accomplished this through a number of activities, including:

Maintaining a competitive tax structure;

Making sure our permitting, licensing and other regulatory processes are efficient and streamlined;

Pursuing successful marketing initiatives with the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Bellevue Downtown Association, Bellevue Convention Center Authority, Bellevue College, the Trade Development Alliance and others;

Reaching out to businesses seeking information and other assistance about locating here;

Embarking on an innovative effort to build on our population’s increasing diversity by strengthening trade and cultural relationships internationally, particularly with the rapidly

developing countries of India and China; and Developing Bellevue as the gateway in mobile communications and ―future economy.

Are we succeeding? I think so. Bellevue is viewed as having one of the most vital business climates in the state and nation. We are routinely cited as a “best place” by national media, which note the city is a good place to do business, and is an attractive place to live — with our great neighborhoods, parks, schools and proximity to beautiful mountains and other natural amenities.

Consider that:

The number of major companies headquartered or with a major presence in Bellevue continues to grow, adding to our city’s transformation as one of the state’s major employment centers with an emphasis on high-technology and finance. Symetra, Expedia and Microsoft have decided to move employees downtown due to its vibrancy and connection to transit and other services.

Our downtown retail core, the envy of many cities, continues to grow. We are considered one of the country’s premiere shopping areas. The Bellevue Collection and the opening in recent years of many new stores are two reasons why.

We continue to successfully help small, minority-owned businesses through the Bellevue Entrepreneurship Center, a partnership between the city, the Chamber and others. At the same time, we are working hard to revitalize aging neighborhood commercial centers, teaming up with business owners and residents alike. Work is now underway at Lake Hills Center, and at Newport Hills we are collaborating with residents, businesses and property owners to revitalize the retail area.

To diversify our economy and maximize the benefits and growth potential from the high technology industries already in Bellevue and our diverse and highly-trained workforce, we are aggressively reaching out to countries like China and India to build stronger relationships. For example, in May we signed a trade pact with the China city of Qingdao. A year and a half ago, a similar pact was signed with another China city, Dalian.

As I mentioned earlier, many of the benefits from the economic development activities I’ve listed are largely invisible to residents. And it can take years before certain activities yield tangible results. Relationships are built over time. It takes years to build the talents, and Microsoft ecosystem and financial resources we now have.

But a large of part of a solid economic development program, of building a sustainable, healthy local economy, is about building relationships. During an economic downturn such as the one we are now experiencing, it is more important than ever to maintain our commitment to these efforts to meet the needs of a rapidly changing business world – and to become a world-class city.

Conrad Lee is Deputy Mayor of Bellevue