Thoughts on Economic Development in Brunswick County
Over the past few days there have been numerous media reports related to issues with changes in Brunswick County’s approach to economic development. Forgive the length of the comments below, but this is a topic that cannot be effectively condensed into a soundbite or tweet. Additionally, please note that these are my opinions and may or may not reflect the views of other county commissioners.
Role of Economic Development
First, it is important to discuss the proper role of our county’s economic development function. I begin with the fundamental principle that it is NOT the role of government to CREATE jobs; that is the job of the private sector.
Our job as a county is to create a regulatory and tax environment in which businesses can grow and thrive. We also have a role in providing water, sewer and other appropriate infrastructure. Additionally, we have a role in protecting the quality of life in Brunswick County; this includes but is not limited to education and public safety. Our board and staff are diligent in this effort, but this is a never-ending process.
Further, I also believe we have a role when it comes to RECRUITING jobs by PROMOTING Brunswick County to potential private-sector job creators. We can’t have a Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come” mentality. I believe our economic development agency, whether it be a commission or a department, is largely a sales & marketing organization. Its job is to build relationships and promote Brunswick County to those involved in selecting industry locations. Our economic development agency’s job is to put us on the map. I believe the economic development commission has done a good job in this regard. Unfortunately, we have not closed the deal on a big industry, but that is by no means due to lack of effort. Selecting a location for industrial relocation or expansion is a big-ticket item, and the sales cycle for big-ticket decisions is longer than that for smaller ones. With that said, it is never a bad thing to reflect on how we might improve our approach and, therefore, our closing ratio.
Importance of Economic Development Efforts
There are some (not necessarily on our board, but who live in the county) who seem think we should cease all county-sponsored efforts to market and promote our county to job-creating businesses. I fundamentally disagree. We are operating in a marketplace in which we are competing with other geographic areas in North Carolina, throughout the United States and worldwide. States with conservative tax and regulatory structures like Texas and South Carolina also have aggressive economic development and industrial recruitment programs. They are not going to stop their recruitment and marketing efforts. Neither should we, unless we are satisfied with our economic status quo. I am not. While it is not the role of government to CREATE jobs, we must never cease our efforts to tell Brunswick County’s story to those private sector organizations that do create jobs and are looking to relocate or expand.
Change Needed, But What Change?
As I have stated on several occasions over the past few days, I am in agreement that some things need(ed) to change regarding our county’s approach to economic development. For one, we needed tighter financial controls, That is why, even prior to this week’s changes, on which I will elaborate below, the economic development commission’s financial operations were going to be moved to our county’s finance office. That single move would increase accountability and oversight and would ensure proper segregation of duties. This and other changes needed to be made.
However, change for the sake of change is not the answer. Change without forethought, vision and planning leads to unintended consequences.
Much of the recent discussion centered around whether the Brunswick County Economic Development Commission, which is a separate governmental body established some years ago by the N.C. General Assembly, should begin to function as a completely separate entity from the county, or whether we should take steps to move the economic development function into a county department. While either of these moves represented a change, either option was an important change and not one to be undertaken lightly. Further, there are other legal entities that have to be taken into account.
By way of analogy, consider a situation in which you have an arm or leg that is injured or atrophied. Is your immediate solution to say “Let’s amputate and start over with a prosthetic limb?” I doubt it. Your first course of action would likely be to seek medical attention and also take corrective action to rehabilitate the injured or atrophied limb.
Over the past few days I have communicated with commissioners in a number of counties similar in size to Brunswick. As I inquired about the structure and effectiveness of their economic development efforts, a couple of things became abundantly clear. First, no system is inherently good or bad. Second, there is no right or wrong way to set up an economic development program. Different counties have different structures that work for them.
There are pros and cons to making it a department, and there are pros and cons to having a separate commission. Commissioners in counties that have moved to or have a department said they have increased accountability and control over what happens. Commissioners in counties where economic development is handled by a separate entity emphasized the importance of having businesspeople, not politicians, making economic development decisions.
We are fortunate that we currently have commissioners and a county manager who are business-minded and support recruiting industry to Brunswick County. That may not be the case in years to come, and it is important to have business leaders at the economic development table to help ensure continuity.
These are some of the reasons that, in an earlier post, I said I was not yet at the point of advocating for the economic development commission to dissolve and the function to be moved into a county department. However, in that same post I also said that it would be prudent to give the economic development commission an opportunity to make necessary changes. They have now taken definitive action.
The Decision
On Tuesday we received word that all members of the Brunswick County Economic Development Commission had tendered their resignations. At our agenda meeting later that afternoon the board of commissioners unanimously voted to accept the EDC’s decision and transfer EDC employees to the county beginning July 1. Our staff is undertaking steps to ensure a proper transfer of all EDC assets to county control.
I commend the members of the economic development commission and their chairman, Tom Adams, for taking this decisive action.
Moving Forward
Moving forward, several things will likely happen.
First, as described in the post linked here, economic development director Jim Bradshaw is retiring as of October 1. His departure will leave a void to fill.
Second, with the economic development function transitioning into a county department, Jim and the other staff will report to County Manager Ann Hardy. She will determine how to best move forward with structuring the department and filling the vacancy created by Jim’s retirement.
Third, we will likely begin discussions on how to structure an economic development advisory board. As previously stated, I believe it is imperative to engage Brunswick County’s business leaders in our economic development efforts.
Regardless of the nuances of the road ahead, Brunswick County is open for business! I thank those who have been involved with and supported our past economic development efforts, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to promote private sector job growth in our county.
– Frank Williams