Economic development | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Jim Bispo's weekly column appears in the Beaufort Observer.

    There was an interesting Editorial in the Tampa Tribune a few days ago (10/28/2013) about economic development.. So why should I be writing about a Tampa Tribune editorial in a column headed for the Beaufort Observer?? After all the great experiences Beaufort County has had with economic development I thought it might be interesting to see how the County's economic development experiences compare with others.

    What particularly got my attention was the similarities between what is being reported about the activity and the "Big Time" EDC operation experienced in Beaufort County not so long ago. (No, Bob, I'm not talking about you.) The names were different, but, as it turns out, that was about all.

    In Beaufort county NC, it is the Economic Development Commission which claims to be responsible for recruiting companies. In Florida it is Enterprise Florida, a semi private agency that claims to be responsible for recruiting companies to the Sunshine State.

    Enterprise Florida reportedly fell far short of its job-creation promises. Beaufort County EDC (BC EDC) fell far short of its job-creation promises

    Enterprise Florida annual report neglected to include failing ventures in a program that offers up-front funding to relocating companies. BC EDC likewise neglected to report ventures that didn't turn out so well.

    A number of companies failed to generate the promised jobs and were not included in the official tabulation. It is not clear that any of the BC EDC promised jobs ever materialized in anywhere near the numbers promised - glowing reports not withstanding.

    Two companies shown as making their goals were actually some 1300 jobs behind schedule while Enterprise Florida showed their incentive efforts as some 600 jobs ahead of projections. BC EDC reports also were filled with glowing "higher than projected" figures which were shown to be mostly conjured - and often included "double counting".

    Further, what was supposed to be a public/private joint effort on florida reportedly ended up 2% "privately "funded and the rest "publically"funded when it came to financing. (They apparently didn't have a privately funded "Committee" to help bankroll them). An awful lot of taxpayer money in Beaufort County seemed to be spent helping leverage their "handmaiden" C of 100 investments. (Actually, it was never clear just which of the two organizations was the "handmaiden. Opinions vary..)

    If it wasn't for Warren Smith, BC EDC performance (actually, lack of performance) may never have been exposed.. Thank you Warren. Beaufort County owes you..

    It gets better (depending on how you look at it).

    In the face of all these shortcomings, the Executive Director in Florida received a $70K bonus on top of his $230K salary.. Beaufort County EDC director didn't do quite as well numerically, but all things considered, wasn't far behind (if at all).

    It would surely be interesting (and perhaps even enlightening) to know how the dollars involved compare on a per capita basis, per job promised, or some other objective and quantifiable metric that would provide a "level field" basis for comparison of the two operations.

    According to the editorial, the Florida experience is not atypical. In Indiana a state audit reported that some 40% of the jobs promised by their economic developers never materialized. Likewise, in Ohio, Jobs Ohio (their economic development organization) reportedly played fast and easy with their funds (co-mingling private and public money) and reportedly "sandbagged" efforts to find out just what went on.

    Click here to read the Tribune editorial.

    We are left to wonder if there is perhaps a secret "Economic Developer" Society (or is it a cabal??) that provides them all with the same play book?? The "plays" (i.e. scams) they run seem to be eerily similar.

    Alternatively - or perhaps additionally - there may exist an "enrollment restricted" post graduate "on line" course (or perhaps a "seminar" would be more in keeping with the "stature" of these operatives) for so called economic developers that teaches the play book.

    If so, the course material surely includes chapters on obfuscating reports(and graphs); how to turn failed promises into glowing success stories; how to avoid answering direct questions; how to maximize travel reimbursements; how to disguise apples as oranges (and vice versa); how to structure the organization so as to provide confused lines of supervision; how to dodge responsibility; and the like (for openers). Most of all, there surely is a separate section on how to maximize salary and bonuses even in the face of abysmal performance.

    Instead of worrying about how many folks returned phone calls or were "romanced" over a fancy lunch or dinner we need to start holding our Economic Developers accountable for results. Failure is not an option. In the University environment (a long time ago when I was a student there) the mantra was "Publish or Perish". The mantra for our Economic Developers (by whatever title we give them) must be "Produce or Perish".

    If we let them get away with anything less, it will be as much our fault as it is theirs.

    D'ya think??