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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 4 2009 Regular MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES AUGUST 4, 2009 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Regular Session on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, at 7:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman Godfrey Williams Vice Chairman Marvin Norman Steve Johnson Ken Robertson Scott Keadle Staff present: Acting County Manager Tracy Jackson, County Attorney Bill Pope, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Transportation Director Ben Garrison, Planning Director Ron Smith, Tax Collector Bill Furches, Sheriff's Department Captain Mike Phillips, Executive Assistant Retha Gaither, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Williams INVOCATION by Commissioner Johnson PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ADJUSTMENTS OF THE AGENDA: MOTIO by Chairman Williams to approve the following agenda adjustments: Deleted: Consideration of a Request from the Town of Mooresville for a Zoning/Subdivision Jurisdiction Release (Site is located between Mooresville & Davidson along NC 115 and Lake Norman) Note: This was advertised as a public hearing; however, the Town requested for the matter to be tabled until the 2030 Horizon Plan was approved. Addition: Request for Approval of a Release of Restriction and Condition on 28.5 Acres of Property, formerly known as the Thomasville Plant Site, in order for the Land to be Used by the Iredell-Statesville Schools for Educational Purposes VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. PUBLIC HEARING Consideration of an Economic Development Incentive for BestSweet, Inc: Mooresville -South Iredell Economic Development Corporation Marketing & Existing Industry Manager Rob Carney and Executive Director Russell Rogerson appeared before the board regarding this incentive. Carney said BestSweet had been in existence in Mooresville since 1988, and the company produced candies, lozenges, cough drops, dietary supplements, and over the counter drug products. He said 240 full time workers with an average salary 20% higher than the county wage rate were employed, and the company was proposing a 40,000 sq. ft expansion. He said BestSweet planned on extending production lines to meet future growth and to add additional research and development facilities. Carney said the expansion would involve $3 million in new facility investment and $2.3 million in new machinery and equipment purchases, plus there would be 15 new jobs. He said the total investment of $5.3 million would bring about an anticipated five year tax impact of $108,663 dollars. Carney said that in accordance with the county's industrial incentive policy, this would make the company eligible for 80% of the increased tax value paid back for a period of five years. He said taking depreciation of machinery into account, the grant would amount to $86,931 over five years. Carney said BestSweet had been a vested corporate citizen for over two decades and would continue to remain so in Mooresville and Iredell County for years to come. (Questions and Answers) Commissioner Keadle: Mr. Carney, you said that BestSweet had been here for a certain amount of time and they would continue to be here for quite a length of time. Is that correct? Camey: To my knowledge, yes sir. Commissioner Keadle: Do you think that's true whether or not we give them this incentive tonight? is there any chance that they'll say they're leaving town because of the lack of this incentive? Rogerson: I can't speak on behalf of the company. Cmmissioner Keadle: I think you just did. Rogerson: In terms of what their future plans would or would not be. This particular project -- they move forward -- if you ask me to make a guess, I'd say most likely. Because they are vested in this community, and they do need to expand to meet their market place. Commissioner Keadle: Do you think they probably would? You can't speak for them obviously, but you think they would probably go ahead and do what they were going to do, regardless of the incentive. Rogerson: At this time, most likely. They may have an option to go back and look at doing another facility some place else, but at this point in time, that's my understanding. Commissioner Keadle: Mr. Rogerson, you and Mr. Carney are somewhat experts in the business field here in Iredell County, and you're familiar with all the statistics for these sorts of things. I'm going to ask you a question, and you might not be able to answer it, but I think you probably can. How many businesses in total are there in Iredell County? I don't know the answer to that, and it's not a rhetorical question, I just thought you might know. Rogerson: Honestly, I don't have an official count for that. I could certainly get that for you. Commissioner Keadle: Could you venture a guess? Is it in the hundreds, or thousands, or tens ofthousands? Rogerson: To be perfectly honest when you talk about business -- if you're talking about any sort of business -- from a one-person operation to the largest employer -- no, I don't think I've ever seen that number. I could certainly get that though. Commissioner Keadle: Is it fair to say more than a thousand? Rogerson: I would say that would be fair. Commissioner Keadle: 1 happen to know there're roughly 70,000 employed people in Iredell County. Would you agree with that at the moment, and there're roughly 80,000 people that should be employed? We have a deficit of about 10,000 people. Those are rough numbers, but I'm within a thousand on those. Have you ever seen a study where businesses were locating from place to place, or looking for a new site, and those businesses were polled and asked, for instance, what's important when you're selecting a site? I think you guys presented a study like that to us a month or two ago. Rogerson: Our development magazine each year does a corporate and consultant survey and they ask several questions related to that. They rank the importance of each. Commissioner Keadle: Do you remember what ranking financial incentives came in at? Rogerson: Yes, I do. In fact, I have it in front of me -- if I may. This is combined, the company and the consultants -- #4 the tax exemptions on the list at 88.6% and state and local incentives are #7 at 87.2%. Commissioner Keadle: Number seven. What was number one? 2 Rogerson: Highway accessibility. Commissioner Keadle: And number two? Rogerson: Labor costs followed by occupation and construction costs, followed by tax exemptions, energy availability and costs, availability of skilled labor being #6 and state and local tax incentives being #7. Commissioner Keadle: Well that's #7. Rogerson: That's correct. Commissioner Keadle: 1 think I remember you saying something about how Iredell County ranks in terms of business sites across the nation. My memory is that we did very well. Rogerson: That's correct. Commissioner Keadle: Among the top in the nation. Rogerson: That's correct, number one in mieropolitan communities in the United States for 2008. Commissioner Keadle: How do we rank in terms of, and you might not be able to answer this, in terms how much money we give among the 100 counties in North Carolina? Do you know how we rank with that -- in terms of the state and county and federal dollars totaled up in incentives? We're pretty low on that, aren't we, since we are a Tier III county? Rogerson: Yeah, I don't have the numbers to compare it to, but based on the $2 billion in increased assessed value we've seen in the southern part of the county, the incentive amount is relatively small. Commissioner Keadle: Going back to how we rank in terms of sites for business, why do you suppose that is? You're somewhat of an expert in the field. Could you venture a guess as to why Iredell is so highly ranked? Rogerson: Well, I think it's desirability of location, proximity to major metro market, airport, Interstate 40 and 77. I think it's a pro-business community, and we have a strong workforce as well. Commissioner Keadle: And you think we're a pro-business community even though we're very low in terms of combined incentive dollars. Rogerson: A pro-business community is a community that knows how to keep its tax structure the least impactful on the community as a whole -- not just residential. Who has the willingness to make sure we have the infrastructure and sites available, and making sure we have the training available, the education, and all those assets that companies need to be successful. Commissioner Keadle: Is it true that there're counties out in North Carolina, for instance, that have maybe ten times the amount of incentive dollars for companies, and yet they still have an unemployment rate that's much higher than ours? I can think of a few. You wouldn't argue that point would you? Rogerson: I would say there're more counties out there with more dollars put in incentives based on the type of companies that located there when they located. Commissioner Keadle: Caldwell -- much higher unemployment, and yet, also much higher incentive dollars. Rogerson: The tier system takes care of that as well. Commissioner Keadle: How many businesses in the last two years have received incentive dollars from the county here? How many separate businesses? 3 (Rogerson asked Rob Carney if he had the number.) Camey: Since I've been here for the year and five months, I've only brought to this board two businesses. Commissioner Keadle: Okay. So we've given two businesses incentives, and we know, or we agree, that we've got at least a thousand businesses in Iredell County of some medium size, or large size. Last question, I remember in closed session, and I don't think this is a big secret, so I'll go ahead and say it, I asked you guys if you could bring us an analysis from the taxpayers' perspective. In other words, the taxpayers are going to put a dollar in and what I'd call equity since it's all their money and nobody is loaning it, and so I'm wondering if you have some sort of pro forma analysis on how the taxpayer gets that dollar back. Whether they get ninety cents back or a dollar ten back. Is there an analysis that you know about, or did you bring one? Rogerson: We've done some research on that, and basically I don't have that report directly, the multiplier number is one of those issues. I've seen studies where you could multiply the investment by 1.8, and I've seen it where you could multiply it by 7. The point would be that it's probably best to commission a study like that, or bring some of those economist -type experts to come together to provide that type of supportable data. Commissioner Keadle: Ms. Blumenstein, could you tell us what you do for the county. Susan Blumenstein: I'm the finance director. Commissioner Keadle: Are you the person who we would come to if we wanted this sort of financial analysis, or any financial analysis related to any matter? That's your area of expertise. Blumenstein: Well, the financial analysis for the county records yes, and I will do my best for any other analysis that's requested. Commissioner Keadle: I guess it's fair to say that when we need financial advice, one way or another, or we want someone to look at a deal, you're the person that we traditionally come to and say, `What do you think of this?' Blumenstein: Yes sir. Commissioner Keadle: Did anyone ask you for an analysis of this particular deal, or of the financial incentive kind of deal. Blumenstein: Yes sir. I received an e-mail from you requesting an analysis of return on investment. Commissioner Keadle: Yes ma'am, and also Mr. Robertson. Blumenstein: Yes, and what he said, I don't remember the exact words. Commissioner Keadle: I believe, maybe because of a little misunderstanding, that that would have to be put on hold. Is that correct? Blumenstein: Yes, neither I nor Tracy were in the closed meeting, so I didn't have all the information I needed. Commissioner Keadle: I understand. Now, to your knowledge, since you've been here, has there ever been an analysis like this done to determine from the perspective of the taxpayer whether this is a profitable venture when we take their money and invest it in one of these things. Blumenstein: There has not been a detailed analysis of sales tax returns and other types of returns that are received from the incentives. No. Commissioner Keadle: I'm sure you're familiar with what's called a pro forma analysis to determine the return on investment. 4 Blumenstein: Yes. Commissioner Keadle: When you're deciding whether to spend money with somebody. Blumenstein: Yes sir. Commissioner Keadle: Okay, and we don't have one of those. Blumenstein: No. Commissioner Keadle: Okay. Do you know, just out of curiosity, and you may not know off the top of your head. You may not know, and it doesn't matter. How much money we've allocated this year for economic incentives? Blumenstein: 1 don't remember, but if you'll let me look at one of those little books I can give it to you. I'm thinking it's about a million seven. Let me say if they meet their investment threshold. (The books that Blumenstein referred to were the 2009-2010 Budget Highlights Booklets that had been placed on the desks for each board member.) Commissioner Keadle: I understand. Blumenstein: I have to budget what I think will happen, but if they don't meet the investment threshold, then they're not paid. Commissioner Keadle: That's correct. This would be a budget allocation based on the understanding. Blumenstein: That's correct. Commissioner Keadle: That's all I have Mr. Chairman. Karen Carty (A broker for Keller Williams Realty in Mooresville, and a resident of Troutman, NC): I am against these business incentives. I believe that they are morally wrong. It's just wrong to take money from some citizens -- tax money -- and give it to other citizens in a more favored group. I think the founding fathers would not have participated in this. They would not like it. They would be against this idea. Just a second. I'm nervous. The next thing I want to say is that I'm as pro business as they come. I believe in a strong free market economy, and I don't think that this policy makes a strong economy. We see on a federal level what this blending of government money with private enterprise is doing, and it's not building a strong economy. It's making the economy weak. It's actually destroying it -- so what I want to say is that I want a vibrant, strong, robust, economy in Iredell County. I think the best way to achieve that is for government to withdraw from this game of giving tax money to certain businesses and encourage certain things, and just allow the free market to operate the way it's supposed to. If we don't stop this somewhere, on a local level, or on a county level, it's just going to keep snowballing until we have a situation just like they have at the federal level which is no good for anyone. That's all I have to say. Commissioner Keadle: Ms. Carty, I understand you are a small business woman -- you and your husband. Is that correct? Com: Yes, that's correct. Commissioner Keadle: When did you start your business in Iredell County? Carty: Well, we've always been in business in Iredell County since we came here 15 years ago. Commissioner Keadle: Did you receive or ask for any kind of incentive when you started your business here. Carty: No. 5 Commissioner Keadle: Are you here tonight to ask for any kind of financial incentive? Carty: No. I don't believe in that. Commissioner Keadle: Do you think you need that to be profitable, or would you rather the government be out of your way? Com: Oh, yes. I would rather the government be out of my way, and what I think is that if you all have this money to give businesses, what you ought to do is lower the tax rate just a little bit which would make the environment even more favorable. Just like what the gentleman before me said, a pro business county or town keeps its tax structure the least impactful, and that means the lowest. Buddy Hemric: Mr. Chairman, commissioners, I question the taxpayers' money being put to good use here with BestSweet. My wife's second cousin got out of the army. He went to work with Freightliner in Cleveland. They did a big layoff. He went to BestSweet and got a job over there. He worked a couple hours a day, and they'd send him home. He was not making enough money to keep up his mortgage, support his family and all of that, so he's now back in the Army again. I question -- say they're going to hire 15 more people. Are they going to have full time jobs there, or are they going to be working like my wife's second cousin -- work a few hours a day and go home? Is that being productive for the money the taxpayers are putting out for the expansion down there? Thank you. (Public hearing was adjourned at this point.) Commissioner Johnson to Mr. Rogerson: Mr. Carney said the incentive would equate to about 80% of the taxes they'll pay in any given year, so another way to say that is that the incentives we will give in any given year, during the term of this contract, would be exceeded by 25% in regard to the amount of taxes they'll actually pay in. Rogerson: Correct. They would pay 100% and receive 80% in return. Commissioner Johnson: Now, in part of your presentation, I've seen the studies that you've talked about. It's been sometime since I've seen one, but you did make one thing that piqued my interest that I'm not sure I'm familiar with. You said that one of the things they'll look for is tax exemptions and another thing is the incentive. Would you differentiate between those two for me. Rogerson: Yeah. Tax exemption would be, for example, tax exemption on machinery, equipment, which would in essence exempt them from 100% of that tax. There are tax exemptions also related to foreign trade zones, and there are federal and state tax exemptions that employers and companies will seek. The state and local incentives are direct incentives based on the taxes they will pay. Commissioner Johnson: There's some question as far as the legality of any tax exemptions. Wouldn't you agree Mr. Pope? Can we forgive taxes? Attorney Pope: No, we can't forgive taxes. Commissioner Johnson: So that's a tool that's not in our tool box. Rogerson: Correct. This is a national survey and there are other states that do provide tax exemptions but North Carolina does not. Commissioner Robertson: It was my understanding that the difference was that basically we are, in the eyes of businesses -- I thought that what we're really doing is not doing the economic incentive is we're basically saying that 80% of the additional investment is tax free for the five years, or seven years, and the economic incentive, which is the number 7, is when we've had companies and they've asked us to buy them the land or build them the buildings. We've said no to those. That's where they've asked us to fork out a whole lot of money just to get them here. I thought that was the differentiation between the two. 6 Rogerson: No. There are many forms of incentives, and it's wide and varied. You go into some areas, and they'll give land, they'll build buildings, they'll forgive payment on the buildings for two to five years. There're some very creative things out there. There's some very expensive. You know lredell County's policy is strictly sticking to the investment made. It's reviewed each year. They pay those taxes on that investment, and then 80% of that is rebated back to the company. Commissioner Robertson: When you said, I don't remember what the one for number four under the rebate or making it tax free. It's number four, then you had a percentage, and then you said number seven was economic incentives, then after that you said 87%. What does 87% mean? Ro eg rson: The ranking. Number one rank was highway accessibility at 95.4. Commissioner Robertson: Okay. What is 95.4? What's the second number? Rogerson: They are percentages of totals of very important and important in a survey. Commissioner Robertson: So even if it was number four or number seven, basically we've got almost 90% of the businesses saying that's important to them. Rogerson: That's correct. Commissioner Johnson: Mr. Rogerson, when we enter into a contract with these folks, in which they agree to make a certain investment and to hire a certain number of people, at a certain percentage above the county average pay rate, and if for some reason they don't meet the terms of that contract, then their incentive is either not given in that year, or it is reduced to correspond with the performance of the contract. Is that correct? Rogerson: Correct. If they do not meet what we propose this evening, then that would have to come back to you for either an amendment or disapproval. If they don't meet it, then there's no action. They didn't receive an incentive whatsoever. Commissioner Keadle: You said that they will receive, or they will pay 100% of the taxes, and they'll receive 80% of the taxes back in return. Is that correct? Rogerson: That's my understanding. Commissioner Keadle: That might be new math, but I guess that means they'll pay 20% of their taxes unless I miss something. Is there an easier way to say that? Rogerson: That's correct. Commissioner Keadle: Of all the taxpayers in Iredell County, there are 150,000 people more or less, and I'm going to guess that at least 100,000 are property taxpayers -- maybe more -- but how many of those get to pay 20% of their taxes for the next five years? Rogerson: I wouldn't know that answer. Commissioner Keadle: I think you told me a minute ago maybe just two or three. Rogerson: Oh! You asked how many people were receiving incentives, and that's all I'm familiar with. Commissioner Keadle: Two or three out of a hundred thousand. So 100,000 are paying into the system and 2 or 3 entities are getting back out. I'm assuming that my automobiles and my home are not eligible for this incentive. Is that a fair statement? Rogerson: According to policy standing right now, you would have to make a three million investment and hire people above the county wage. 7 Commissioner Keadle: So to extrapolate, if an optometrist wanted to move here from northern Mecklenburg County, or from Alexander County, if he came here, and said he was going to spend $300,000 on a building, hire staff, and have a payroll of $400,000. Is he eligible? Rogerson: Not according to the policy as it stands today. Commissioner Keadle: So a small guy like an optometrist, they're just out of luck. I'll ask you a question. You don't have to answer. You're not a morals expert. But, do you think that's fair? Rogerson: You're asking opinions and quite frankly .......... Commissioner Keadle: Fair enough. MOTION by Commissioner Keadle to ask Mrs. Blumenstein to complete a thorough and detailed analysis from the taxpayers' perspective as to whether this produces a positive return on investment. Commissioner Robertson asked if the analysis could be directed to the county manager. He said this would be best in case the "realm" of expertise went outside the finance staff, plus it followed protocol. Commissioner Keadle said Commissioner Robertson supported the motion a few months ago, and a failure to perform an analysis before an investment occurred was a breach of fiduciary responsibility of the board. Commissioner Robertson said every department in the county had been asked to take a hard look at the cost and benefits for what was spent. He said a review was good and a challenge process was healthy. Robertson said the incentive policy had been used for many years but that didn't make it right. He said, however, a review didn't make it wrong. Chairman Williams asked if the analysis was open ended or if a submission deadline would be imposed. Commissioner Robertson said he didn't think a date could be used until the staff determined if the analysis could be done in-house. He said if they could provide the work, then they needed to tell the board how long it would take. Robertson said if the staff couldn't provide the information, the cost for outside experts should be revealed before it was requested. Commissioner Keadle said that if the analysis couldn't be done on behalf of the taxpayers, then the county shouldn't be spending the taxpayers' money. Commissioner Johnson said that as a young economics student he first heard the term "moral hazard." He said required reading was Adam Smith's, Wealth of Nations, and he didn't hear the term for three generations until recently, when it was brought back up concerning the trillions of dollars being thrown around in Washington. Johnson said, "It must take trillions of dollars to prick the conscience of some hardened criminals." Continuing Johnson said, "The fact is we deal in the more mundane matters here. In the macrocosm, the big idea of economic incentives, legislative bodies have enacted, and courts have upheld, laws and statutes for the giving of economic incentives by states and or local government. Regardless of our individual or collective philosophy, the law allows this, and this board has no power to change the laws of macroeconomic recruitment, because we deliberate in the microeconomic area of industrial recruitment. Firms decide where they will locate based on a number of factors. As these gentlemen have shared with us, and in our micro realm we are handicapped by high corporate and marginal tax rates at the state and what I consider to be an insane tier system imposed by the state. Now, if you really want to give someone a hard time about economic recruitment philosophy, that is far more fertile ground than the money we deal with here. I've always been convinced of the fact that liberals like to redistribute wealth, but the people in Raleigh like to redistribute economic opportunities. Incentives do play a role, as the statistics Mr. Rogerson just shared, albeit to an obviously greater degree at the state level than locally. However, local incentives do play a part. Once a firm decides which region in the state that they will locate, then they decide which community or town would best suit their interest. Counties take notice of what other counties do. We do not operate in a vacuum. If other economic developers in the 9 counties surrounding us learn that the Iredell County Board of Commissioners refused an economic development incentive for a firm, then they would immediately call that firm and attempt to recruit them. Due diligence has already been accomplished for that area to proceed on the fact that the project would be at minimal cost to the firm. We recruit economic or industrial firms or commercial firms for two reasons, not just because of the job, but because of the tax base. We have set some criteria, and this board from time -to -time has been asked to modify that and even reduce it. To the chagrin of some, we've chosen not to do so. This is a $5 million investment with 15 jobs. It will be a contractual agreement, but the fact of the matter is in these economic times, this will make up for a very small percentage of the tax base we've lost due to depreciation of existing equipment which has not been replaced. I would maintain that 20% of something is better in some cases than 100% of nothing. BestSweet in this regard has been a good corporate citizen. They have faithfully fulfilled the terms of the previous contract, and I have every reason to believe they'll do it regarding this contract. I think if we deny them, having set the criteria, and we've told people what the criteria are, and we don't hand these things out willy-nilly -- a lot of people are under the assumption that these folks are going to leave here with a check in hand with $97,000 tonight, and they are not. They're going to leave here with a promise from this county to reimburse them for 80% of the taxes they pay over the next five years. In lieu of that fact, although, philosophically again, I agree with Mr. Keadle, and I've made this statement before. My economic philosophy has been honed by economic pragmatism. We do not operate in a vacuum. Thank you Mr. Chairman. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays —1 (Norman) (This is the motion for the analysis.) MOTION by Commissioner Johnson to grant the request for an economic incentive amount of $97,035.25 over a five-year period based on a $5.3 million investment. (Note: Rob Carney, on July 14, 2009, advised that the company would be seeking a $97,035.25 incentive. (At that time, there was an error in his calculations.) In addition, since that time, machinery and equipment depreciation for the five-year period were factored into the request with the actual incentive amount now being $86,931.) Commissioner Robertson said, "I hate this incentive program. I hate them all. The only reason we have them is because other people have them. It's the same as being in a third -world country where you have to bribe the driver's license examiner to let you take the test to get a drivers license. You can either take the moral high ground, and not give the bribe, and be prepared to walk everywhere you go, or you bribe the examiner, take the test, and you get to drive. It's a terrible system. I believe corporate incentives, especially at our level, are a mixture of corporate blackmail and government bribery. Neither one of them is good, but that's the environment in which we find ourselves having to compete. I don't want people to think this is the only tool in our kit bag that we use to promote employment. If you said, `Gee whiz, we have to give away $86,000 to get $15 jobs.' So you can extrapolate that out, that's not our plan to get the employment rate from 12.8% down to 4.5. This is just a method to attract some of the larger type of companies. We don't give the incentives to everybody. We've had companies come here and offer below market wages and ask for incentives. We've told them no. We've had companies to come in offering average wages for the industry they were in and those wages were marginal at best, and no medical benefits, which meant that at the end of the day, we would have to take care of those people. We said no. It's not a blank check program. If there was another way, or a better way, and I'm open to another way, or a better way, we can look at it. I think the challenge process is healthy, but believe me, and I think I speak for the board, if other counties didn't do this, we wouldn't be doing it for sure. I know that. I don't want people to think we're flippant with it. The question was asked how much money is being allocated, and I think its $892,000 for this year. The total economic development is $1,172,000. Part of this is a gamble, because what you're doing is betting that you're spending a million dollars and some how we help some people right now, who don't have a job, get a good paying job. Is this the best way to do it? I think that's what this debate will be about, but that's the bet we're making. That that is a worthy investment. The last thing that I want to end with is that in government, everything that we do does not have a payback. If you look at the sheet that we have people fill out when they come before us asking for money, we always want to know what's the upfront cost, and what's the ongoing cost. Then, what's the economic -- what's the monetary benefit, and what's the non - monetary benefit. Because some things you just can't quantify. When we build a park, we certainly don't ask for a dollar -for -dollar payback. This is not going to be something that's easy to quantify the benefits. It will be much easier to quantify the costs. In the end, that's going to 9 be a difficult decision just as continuing this program. Every year when we look at the budget, especially this year, it was a difficult decision. I don't want people to think this is real cut and dried. It's messy, and it's messy because when the courts were challenged on the legality of it they said that basically incentives were legal. I wish that court case had been lost, and we could compete with people based upon the quality of our education system, the beauty of the county, our low tax rate, and the intelligence, and work ethic of the citizens." Amendment to the Motion by Commissioner Johnson: MOTION to grant the request for an economic incentive amount of $86,931 over a five-year period based on a $5.3 million investment. Commissioner Keadle requested that his "dissertation" printed in the Record & Landmark be entered into the record as testimony from him and in opposition to the motion. Keadle said that government did not have a payback on many things. He said money was taken from the taxpayers, and the county then provided services. Keadle said, however, in the case of economic incentives, money was being taken from the taxpayers and capitalizing a business enterprise. He said this was being called an investment and it was being made out that there was a return on it. Keadle said that in that case, an analysis should be reviewed to determine if there was a payback. Lastly, he said, "Mr. Robertson said he hates these incentives and then he used the words blackmail and bribery in reference to these incentives. These are pretty strong words, and doing this, saying the state made us do this by the way the legislature wrote the law, or for any other reason in terms of someone made me, when you're talking about blackmail and bribery, that's a pretty bad thing to do, and Mr. Robertson, it sounds like a Nuremburg defense." Commissioner Robertson said, "It is." Commissioner Keadle then said, "Well, we might all hang for it." Commissioner Johnson said, "I've been doing this a long time, and some people speak as if this is the only thing that we do that we don't really like doing. I do a whole lot of things up here I really don't like doing. I think you've got a social welfare system in this country that creates directly the opposite incentives that ought to be created. I think it subsidizes leisure over work. It subsidizes irresponsibility over responsibility, but I don't write that law folks. I have to deal with the consequences of that law. I think, and this is not any discredit to our local school system, they do the best they can, but the fact of the matter is that increasingly at the national level, they have to deal with a system that increasingly looks like it was designed by the former central committee of the Soviet Union. I mean it just does. They are handed down ridiculous mandates that we have to fund that 1 don't like. I can go down through department after department, but the fact of the matter is we do a whole lot of things because as I said earlier, we're down here in the micro. We're in the nuts and bolts of government. We're not up there where the big levers are, and if you want to change these things, I'll support you. But, I've said it before, if you're a county commissioner you're much like a fly on the axle of Aesop's chariot -- `Oh, what a dust you do raise.' I'm through whining Mr. Chairman." Commissioner Norman said, "We have sat here tonight and pretty much said that we're going to change what has happened in the past. Mr. Johnson was here and Mrs. Tice was here, and the rest of them. Everything done in the past surely wasn't wrong. I've been here for seven years, and right now we're saying that what's happened in the last seven years -- all of it was wrong. We've got these folks out here coming before us, and we're going to change the rules on them again. Now, it's all right to research to see how we compare, but when we start changing rules in the middle of the game, it's not too much fun for me. So I'm just saying that when we start changing the rules, we need to think about what we're doing, because these people out here have to work by our rules." Commissioner Keadle said, "Mr. Chairman, I must add that our great nation had a 100 year history of slavery and a tradition of that." Chairman Williams thanked the board members for the economic development incentive discussion. 10 Commissioner Johnson repeated his amended motion as follows: MOTION to grant the request for an economic incentive amount of $86,931 over a five-year period based on a $5.3 million investment. VOTING: Ayes — 4; Nays — 1 (Keadle) Commissioner Keadle's remarks published in the Record & Landmark on August 4, 2009, are as follows: Commissioners should stop giving economic incentives Tonight, I will propose to the Iredell County Board of Commissioners that in the future we discontinue the routine practice of awarding financial incentives to large companies. This corporate welfare comes at the expense of the individual taxpayers and small businesses who create the vast majority of our jobs, our tax base and our economic growth. Freedom Works, a conservative organization dedicated to economic and individual freedom, and the John Locke Foundation, a respected conservative think-tank, both agree with my position, as do a multitude of economic scholars. According to Becki Gray of the John Locke Foundation, financial incentives are "bad public policy, bad for business, bad for the taxpayer and bad for the county." Let me elaborate. In Iredell County, as in most counties, these incentives are only given to big companies who say, in essence, this: "We are a big company, and we are more important than little companies and little people. We have a seat at the negotiating table that little people don't have. We think politicians should do what is best for big companies, not for the people who elected them. We don't care about anything but money. Unlike the small businesses and regular taxpayers who have an actual interest in the community where they live and work, if we don't get our blackmail, we will move somewhere else." Having two different sets of rules --one for big business and one for everyone else --is patently unfair and, by my reading, unconstitutional. 1 have heard it said aloud that all taxes and governments are unfair. Perhaps so, but to the extent that the low is unfair in Iredell County, this board should change it. That buck stops here. Something very obvious to the founders of our nation, but seemingly lost on many contemporary politicians, is the notion that government transfer of one person's dollars into someone else's enterprise amounts to a deprivation of the first person's liberty. Having simply ignored this basic tenet of economic freedom, they then go on to argue that taking your money to fund business expansion will create jobs. Not true. If it were, then government capitalization of business with money taken from taxpayers would lead to full employment and economic nirvana. While some, apparently including President Barack Obama, still advocate this economic theory, it has been disproved in actual practice by the former Soviet Union. Even Vladimir Putin has admitted as much, recently criticizing Obama for interference in the marketplace and failing to learn the lessons of history. Just remember this: Anytime politicians smile and explain how you should put your investment dollars into the economy by way of the government, you better hold onto your wallet. These same politicians rarely give consideration to where the money might be used if the government didn't confiscate it and give it to big business. Of course, taxpayers, free from government control, would still direct their money into the economy, either as consumer spending or as savings. Either way, if ultimately ends up as capital investment, except that now the market is directing the investment instead of the government. Free markets have a proven track record of capitalizing winning management teams who create jobs. The government, on the other hand, has a rather infamous history of rewarding mismanaged companies who are near bankruptcy and are eliminating jobs even after the government has "invested" your money to keep them afloat. Let me be clear: There is no possible way for the taxpayer to benefit from this scheme, forgetting entirely the ethical problems it creates. Another argument I've heard locally is that failing to give taxpayers' money away will send a signal that Iredell County is not "business friendly." Nothing could be further from the truth. Iredell County is consistently ranked among the fop business sites in the United States. The reason for our ranking is not because we give away the most money. In fact, we are among the lowest "incentive counties" in the state. Our business -friendly ranking comes from our focus on the important parameters that companies actually base their decisions on. When asked to rank their location priorities in a recent poll, companies listed things like overall tax rate, transportation availability, utility capacity, trained workforce, educational system, and several others, ahead of financial incentives. So why do companies invariably ask for a financial package before moving or expanding here? In fairness, some ask simply because it is offered, and who could blame them? Most often, though, companies negotiate financial incentives because the other parameters are unchangeable in the near-term, and the one thing left to try and squeeze out of the deal is taxpayers' money. The sad part is not that they are bluffing. The sad part is that politicians are getting taken to the cleaners in a poker game, poorly played with your money. Chairman Williams declared the meeting to be in a public hearing. Consideration of the 2010 North Carolina Department of Transportation Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) Grant Application: Transportation Director Ben Garrison requested permission to apply for a $337,405 ROAP grant. He said a ten percent local match would be needed; however, this could be obtained from passenger trip fares. Garrison said the grant required signatures from the county manager and chairman on the certification statement. No one else desired to speak, and Chairman Williams adjourned the hearing. OTIO by Commissioner Keadle to allow the chairman and county manager to sign the ROAP certification statement. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request to Call for a Public Hearing on September 1, 2009, at 7:00 P.M., Regarding a Release of Zoning and Subdivision Jurisdiction to the Town of Mooresville for an Area Located at the Mooresville Business Park between Mazeppa Road and NC 801: Planning Director Ron Smith said the Town of Mooresville was requesting the release of seven parcels (over 150 acres) that were located in the Mooresville Business Park. He said that if the board of commissioners agreed to a public hearing, the property owners would be notified. Smith said three of the seven acres had a potential buyer, and past practice had been to release parcels on a tract -by -tract basis when the municipality agreed to serve the site with water. Smith said additional information would be obtained on the proposed usage, and that he recommended for the property to be released. OTION by Commissioner Norman to call for a public hearing on September 1, 2009, regarding the zoning and subdivision jurisdiction release. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request from Karl Fritchen, with WSP Sells, and representing Jim Daughtery, for Approval to Develop Under the High -Density Guidelines in a WS -IV Critical Area Watershed (Section 701 of the Iredell County Watershed Protection Ordinance): Planning Director Smith said this request involved properties at 841, 847, and 855 River Highway in Mooresville. He said the applicant desired to exceed the standard allowance of 24% and develop the property with impervious surfaces (areas of the property covered in buildings and parking areas) up to 50%. Smith said in return, the property owner had to engineer the site to control the stormwater runoff that would occur with the increased density. He said there were several steps necessary in order to develop under the high density guidelines, and if the request were granted, three more approvals had to be received. Smith said the developer proposed two retail type buildings, and the property was across the River Oak Subdivision on Hwy. 150. MOTION by Commissioner Johnson to grant the request. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Acceptance of the 2008 Tax Settlement and Approval of the 2009 Tax Orders for the Sheriff and Tax Collector: Tax Collector Bill Furches said annually, a tax settlement had to be provided for the preceding year before his office and the sheriff could be charged with the current years' taxes. He also asked for approval of the 2009 tax orders, which he said provided the legal basis for tax warrants. Furches then shared the following statistical information about the 2008 taxes. 12 orders. OTIO by Commissioner Norman to accept the tax settlement and to approve the tax VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 13 The tax orders are as follows: STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ( ) ( ORDER ) COUNTYOFIREDELL TO: THE SHERIFF OF THE COUNTY OF IREDELL You are hereby authorized, empowered, and commanded to collect the taxes set forth in the tax records fled in the Office of the Tax Assessor and in the tax receipts herewith delivered to you, in the amounts and from the taxpayers likewise therein set forth. Such taxes are hereby declared to be a first lien upon all real property of the respective taxpayers in the County of'Iredell, and this order shall be a All and sufficient authority to direct, require and enable you to levy on and sell any real or personal property of'such taxpayers, for and on account thereof,' in accordance with law. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ( ) ( ORDER COUNTY OF IREDELL ( ) TO: THE TAX COLLECTOR OF THE COUNTY OF IREDELL You are hereby authorized, empowered, and commanded to collect the taxes set forth in the tax records filed in the Office of the Tax Assessor and in the tax receipts herewith delivered to you, in the amounts and from the taxpayers likewise therein set forth. Such taxes are hereby declared to be a first lien upon all real property of the respective taxpayers in the County of Iredell, and this order shall be a fall and sufficient authority to direct, require and enable you to levy on and sell any real or personal property of such taxpayers, for and on account thereof, in accordance with law. Request for Approval of Budget Amendment #3 to Accept Grant Funding from the North Carolina Crime Commission for the Hiring of the Gang Intelligence Officer (Partnership with the Statesville Police Department for the Anti -Gang Initiative): Captain Mike Phillips, with the Sheriff's Department, requested approval of a $46,787 budget amendment. He said office space would be used as the 25% match (in-kind). Phillips said the grant was for two years, and it would cover the salary, plus some equipment, for a new gang investigator. OTION by Commissioner Robertson to approve Budget Amendment #3. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of Budget Amendment #4 to Appropriate Lottery Funds and Public School Building Capital Funds to Iredell-Statesville Schools: Finance Director Susan Blumenstein said that on July 14, 2009, the board approved applications for the Iredell- Statesville Schools to drawdown funds from the lottery and the Public School Building Capital Fund. She said the applications were approved by the state, and the funds were placed in the county's bank account on July 28. Blumenstein said the school system planned to close on a property purchase in Troutman soon, and the budget amendment was needed to transfer the funds. OTION by Commissioner Keadle to approve Budget Amendment #4. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 14 To recognize the Statesville PCVICSO Corp Initiative Grant. This Gant will add one additional full-time BA# 3 employee to the Sheriffs Office. 8/412009 Aamurt # C rrert Change Amended General Fund Govema's Ficgron2y Safety Program- Gang 104510 435900 15120 Initiative (35,090) (35,090) 104510 482000 Federal Equity Sharing (11,698) (11,698) 105510 510002 15120 Salaries & Wages 33,893 33,893 105510 512501 15120 FIC4Tax 2,593 2,593 105510 512502 15120 E ployeds Rdthlnsuranoe 6,960 6,960 105510 512503 15120 State Fbtirerrent 3,342 3,342 Request for Approval of Budget Amendment #4 to Appropriate Lottery Funds and Public School Building Capital Funds to Iredell-Statesville Schools: Finance Director Susan Blumenstein said that on July 14, 2009, the board approved applications for the Iredell- Statesville Schools to drawdown funds from the lottery and the Public School Building Capital Fund. She said the applications were approved by the state, and the funds were placed in the county's bank account on July 28. Blumenstein said the school system planned to close on a property purchase in Troutman soon, and the budget amendment was needed to transfer the funds. OTION by Commissioner Keadle to approve Budget Amendment #4. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 14 Bq#4 Account # To recognize proceeds of Public Sdiod Buildng Capital Fund and Lottery Proceeds and appropriate to Iredell-Statesville Schools for the purchase of property in Troutman for the Iredell Career Tech Center. current ChanW Amended General Fund 104700 457000 Pudic Sdiod Capitd Fund (1,800,000) (1,800,000) 10470045/101 Lottery Proceeds - ISS (2,900,000) (2,900,000) 105700 5600M ISS - PSBCFProjects 1,800,000 1,800,000 105700 560004 ISS -Lottects 2,900,000 2,900,000 Request for Approval of a Voting Delegate for the Annual Conference of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners to be Held on August 27-30, 2009 in Catawba County, NC: A discussion occurred between the board members on who might be able to attend. MOTTO by Commissioner Keadle to allow the Chairman to select someone to attend the meeting. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of the July 14, 2009 Minutes: MOTION by Commissioner Keadle to approve the minutes. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Request for Approval of a Release of Restriction and Condition on a Deed for 28.5 Acres for Property known as the Former Thomasville Furniture Site: Attorney Pope said years ago the county had taken care of the poor by operating a county home and farm in Troutman. He said the county home was eliminated when the Welfare System came into existence, and the property was sold with 28 acres being restricted for industrial purposes. Pope said the school system now desired to purchase the tract, and the restriction needed to be removed. MOTION by Commissioner Keadle to approve the release of the restriction and condition. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. CAROLINAS PARTNERSHIP: Commissioner Keadle said this appointment was tabled on June 16, 2009. He then nominated Charlton Allen. OTIO by Chairman Williams to close the nominations and accept Charlton Allen by acclamation. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURRING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee (1 announcement) Animal Grievance Committee (1 announcement) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS 2010 Census Complete Count Committee (4 appointments): Commissioner Keadle nominated Mr. and Mrs. Lance Desmarais. 15 Fire Department Planning Committee (12 appointments): Commissioner Robertson said the following nominees had been submitted: Voting Members Names Two Commissioners 1. Steve Johnson 2. Ken Robertson Two Fire Chiefs 3. Jeff Richardson (Mount Mourne VFD Chief) 4. Nolan Shumaker (Union Grove VFD Chief) I Water Company Representative 5. Keith Snodd (Iredell Water Corp.) 1 Fire Tax Board Member 6. Frank Phillips (Fire Tax Board) 1 VFD Board Member 7. Two Taxpayers (non fire service connection) 8. Jerry Rhyne (Insurance Industry) 9. Ken Jurney (Private citizen w/ FD ratings knowledge) Non -Voting Members Director of Planning & Development 10. Ron Smith (Planning Director) Fire Marshal 11. Other staff resources (i.e. mapping, finance IT) will be called upon when necessary. 12. Chris Bridges (Mapping Department) Robertson said one member from a VFD board was still needed, and he requested Ken Jurney, who was in the audience, to locate a nominee and to submit the person's name to the board. Commissioner Johnson said that when the committee's membership was first being discussed, the retirement plans for the fire marshal were not known. Johnson said the Deputy County Manager could discuss the position with the current fire marshal. He said the position could be filled by the fire marshal or his designee. Commissioner Roberson said the position could also be occupied by an acting fire marshal. OTION by Chairman Williams to appoint the nominees to the Fire Department Planning Committee. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. NEW BUSINESS Littering and Obstruction at Exit 33: Commissioner Keadle said there had been a number of complaints regarding people who were obstructing and littering at Exit 33. Dr. Keadle said he wanted the public to know the board was concerned about the situation and action had been taken. Acting County Manager Tracy Jackson said several complaints had been received from the south end of the county, and the staff was looking at possible ordinances or changes to existing regulations. He said discussions had occurred with the sheriff's department to find out what could and couldn't be done. Mr. Jackson said the staff was in the research stage now, but a report should be available for the board at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Commissioner Norman at 8:34 p.m., to adjourn the meeting. (Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, beginning at 4:00 P.M., to discuss the 2030 Horizon Plan followed by a pre -agenda, if time permits, with the regular meeting at 7:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. 16 Clerk to the Board