Offut's impact on the local economy Published July 24, 2006 OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Community leaders have long known that military installations have a significant impact on the towns and cities around them. But how much of an impact? That is the question the men and women of the 55th Comptroller Squadron attempt to answer each October as they prepare the annual Offutt Economic Impact Analysis. Some impacts are easier to measure than others, according to Lisa Dahmen, a financial advisor for the squadron. While the squadron's accountants can add up just how much money is being spent by the base in the local community, that doesn't accurately reflect the base's total economic impact, she said. "The base has a larger economic impact on the community than just the money we're spending locally," she said. "A certain portion of every dollar that we spend locally - such as contracts, wages, Basic Allowance for Housing - will be spent again in the local area. A single dollar can have much more than a one dollar impact." In the Omaha area, the portion of any given dollar that will be spent locally is about 68 cents, she said. Of those 68 cents, the same portion will again be spent locally, in a never-ending process. The end result? "Last year Offutt injected over $768 million into the local economy," Ms. Dahmen said, "But because of this reinvestment, our total economic impact was over $2.8 billion."