Wayne County, NC

As a follow up to my last post, “Our Time Is Now!” I wanted to address some common misconceptions surrounding economic development. To do this, I sat down with the Development Alliance’s president, Joanna Helms and picked her brain about her 19+ years of experience in economic development. Needless to say Joanna is a wealth of knowledge; she shared with me the most common misconceptions in economic development and cleared the air about these mis-aligned expectations.

PRODUCT – BUILDINGS AND SITES

Any open field can be considered an industrial site. (Myth)

• We cannot and will not show an industrial prospect a site unless it is “shovel ready” and we have control of the site either through ownership or with an option to purchase. 
• The reason for this is that clients demand this and the competition for projects is too tight.  They have no time to wait for a site to be prepared or to find out if it could be for sale. 
• True industrial sites must have all tests, development costs, plans, certifications, etc. known in advance of the client visit.

 INCENTIVES

The County of Wayne, the City of Goldsboro, or the WCDA are the main resources for a grant or incentive. (Myth)

• The County, City or WCDA typically are not the generators of a grant…it is the state of NC as set by the legislature.
• The appropriate local unit of government comes into play when and if there is a match required by the grant structure.
• The WCDA does not have grants, we are not a loan authority and we do not have a pool of money to dole out – even to the most deserving business.

 Most incentives are paid well after a company begins or expands operations. (Truth)

• Performance agreements are required between the state and the company or between the local unit of government and the company that spells out what both sides will do. 
• If the company does not “perform” as agreed, the funds are either not dispersed or are paid back by the company.
• There is no “up front” money.

 Any company that has decided to locate or expand in a NC community can be eligible for state grants or state incentives. (Myth)

• If they have already decided to relocate, there is no need to incent.
• Eligibility for grants and incentives is in part based on the project location being competitive with another state. 
• For example, if a company is in Edgecombe County and it decides to move its operations to Wayne County, they do not qualify for state incentives. That is called “rearranging vacancies.”

 OTHER

Quality of life is a top consideration when a company chooses a location. (Myth)

• Studies have shown that quality of life is rarely ever at the top of a critical factors list. 
• Top considerations are labor/workforce, incentives, transportation, cost of doing business (e.g. taxes), an available site or building, and utilities. 
• Choosing a location to place an industry is a business decision, not a feel good decision. It is an important community factor…but it’s not really what executives around the industrial world are thinking about when they are making a business location decision. 
• Keep in mind: one or two top level management may move to the location but the majority of the workforce is hired locally. 
• This does not apply to retail, small businesses, mom and pop operations, the hospital, etc.  They weigh Quality of Life on a whole other level.
• FUN FACT: Wayne County has never lost a prospect due to QOL. 

 Our focus at the WCDA is industry…the size of the company does not matter. (Truth)

• We have “industries” that are as small as a 2 person operation, such as a machine shop, and ones that have 500 employees or more. 
• It’s what they “do” that distinguishes them as a prospect or an existing industry.
• The WCDA indentifies industry as manufacturing/wholesale/distribution/machine shops/back office type operations.
• We do not actively recruit retail, restaurants, hotels, entertainment, etc.  That is commercial development and in part it’s because we cannot really assist them. 
• Our available industrial buildings and sites are not suited for them, we do not write business or marketing plans, we do not have a pool of money to give away to get them started, and there are no state grants for commercial development thus there are no local matches either.

 SUMMARY

 It’s best to think about the basics of what the Development Alliance does in Wayne County. The Wayne County Development Alliance recruits industry, we retain industry by helping them grow and prosper, and we develop industrial sites and industrial buildings for those new or existing industrial clients.

• We work with industry – small, medium and large.
•  We do have a narrow focus and that is intentional. 
•  We collect and give out demographic and community information.
•  We give referrals to other agencies or entities such as local commercial developers or real estate brokers, the Small Business Center at Wayne Community College; the Neuse River Development Authority; or the Small Business & Technology Development Center. 

We cannot be all things to all people nor do we try, but we do try to explain our focus so that the expectations of the WCDA will be more properly directed and understood. We appreciate everyone’s part, including yours, in helping us to clarify our role in the community. Please visit our website www.waynealliance.org to learn more about the WCDA.