Economic incentive program hot topic at area luncheon

Sept. 15--The local state legislators might have been speaking at the coast and not in Raleigh Monday, but the issues -- and frustrations -- were largely the same for members of the New Hanover County's local delegation.

They spoke at the Wrightsville Beach Chamber of Commerce's legislative luncheon about the successes and failures of the recently ended General Assembly short session.

Not surprisingly, the fate of a slew of economic incentive and recruitment programs that became mired in political brinkmanship dominated much of the luncheon talk.

"When politics gets in the way, it gets in the way of good policy," said state Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, who was recently appointed to serve out the remainder of retired Sen. Thom Goolsby's term.

State Rep. Susi Hamilton, D-New Hanover, called the current status of the state's economic programs a "bad situation" that could end up costing North Carolina thousands of existing and future jobs.

She said it was the unwillingness by Republicans to reach across the aisle and compromise on issues like the state's film incentive and historical preservation tax credit programs that had led to the current crisis.

"We tried to look at a package of economic development initiatives that would work for everyone," said state Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover, alluding to a proposal he and Hamilton floated that included programs backed by both Republicans and Democrats. "Unfortunately, that didn't work out."

Lee said incentives done right can be a great catalyst for an entire region. He said "Project Diamond," a proposal to bring a Continental Tire manufacturing plant to Brunswick County that is now in trouble because of the inaction in Raleigh, was one such proposal.

Along with bringing up to 2,000 jobs to parts of Brunswick and Columbus counties that have struggled to rebound since the Great Recession, Lee said the proposed project would have generated enough business to prompt additional shipping lines to serve the Port of Wilmington.

That, in turn, could have helped the region's business recruitment efforts, said the former chairman of the N.C. State Ports Authority Board of Directors.

"Project Diamond would have tipped the scale," Lee said. "That could have been a huge non-monetary incentive."

Rising flood insurance rates and falling federal funding for beach nourishment and dredging projects also were topics of discussion Monday.

State Rep. Rick Catlin, R-New Hanover, said how to generate the additional revenue at the state and local levels to fill the holes left by Washington pulling back from funding coastal projects remained a major concern.

"We've got some real issues there," he said.

But talk of possibly boosting the county's room-tax fund -- which currently stands at 6 percent -- to help generate additional funds for beach and waterway projects received lukewarm support at best from Monday's audience.

"We do need to find new money cover our needs, and we need to be creative and think outside of the box," Hamilton said.

Gareth McGrath: 343-2384

On Twitter: @Gman2000

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