West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack is certainly doing his homework. He is in the midst of a statewide tour to better understand our communities’ needs and concerns.

“Although it is a small state, it is a very diverse state,” he said. “Each county has its own identity and own issues.”

Last week, he was in Wood County, where he visited with the mayors of Parkersburg and Vienna, and county commissioners; stopped by Wood County Christian School and attended a Workforce West Virginia event.

At Wood County Christian, he learned more about how the Hope Scholarship program is affecting schools and parents.

“We learned a little bit there that we can take back and hopefully administer the program better,” Pack said.

He heard from city and county officials about their concerns over job development, available housing, taxes and infrastructure. County officials even mentioned the Regional Jail bill. And, he learned more about the importance of the Ohio River to economic development.

“In order to take advantage of that, we need to lessen some of the regulations that we have,” Pack said. “What these businesses want is lower taxes, but also fair taxes. They want infrastructure, and they want Charleston to be responsive to their needs.”

Pack got feedback on his proposal that there should be term limits for the Board of Public Works, and decisions made by the Board of Treasury Investments — of which he is chairman.

“We need to work to make sure we are a business-friendly state,” he said. “A low-tax state and a small government state.”

If Pack is learning like this and having these kinds of discussions in every region he tours, that bodes well for the job he could do as chief financial officer for the state.

Here’s hoping he is receiving honest, forward-looking answers to his questions, and that he and his staff are ready to take that information and get to work.