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• Support professional development organizations: Provide financial resources necessary at the <br />state, regional, and local levels. Examples of costs incurred by economic development organizations <br />are administration, staff, travel, technology, client recruitment, research, advertisinghnarketing, and <br />office space. <br />• Invest in Infrastructure: Water, sewer, natural gas, electricity, telecommunications including high- <br />speed internet and digital wireless, rail, industrial parks, and highways <br />• Provide incentives <br />Help existing industries <br />Building a competitive environment: Infrastructure, industrial parks, shell buildings, and financial <br />incentives. Other activities include promoting workforce development, supporting quality education <br />from kindergarten through post - secondary levels, maintaining reasonable tax and utility rates, and <br />instituting effective planning and permitting processes. A competitive business climate also entails <br />having a regulatory environment that is not burdensome and assists firms in complying with all <br />necessary regulations. <br />Protecting the public investment: This starts by making informed decisions about economic <br />development based on sound planning and analysis described below. Organizations can be held <br />accountable through representation on governing boards, reporting requirements, performance <br />measurement, and program evaluation. Several mechanisms exist to help state and local governments <br />avoid paying too much in the form of incentives for too little in return. These include some <br />safeguards already adopted in North Carolina, such as: <br />— setting formal eligibility guidelines; <br />— requiring cost - benefit analysis; <br />— tying incentives to company performance; <br />— using claw -back provisions; <br />— targeting distressed areas; and <br />— maintaining wage /job quality standards. <br />Popular Economic Development Strategies and Tools <br />According to a 2009 report published by the UNC School of Government and specific economic <br />development organizations, a range of strategies and tools are actively practiced across North Carolina, <br />including in the jurisdictions surrounding Orange County. A summary of these activities and supporting <br />economic development investment budgets are summarized in (Figure 4). Additional funding data is <br />included as Appendix III and Appendix VIII, Part E. <br />Figure 4. Economic Development Tools by Strategy and Investment Budget Comparison <br />23 The Role of Local Government in Economic Development Survey Findings from North Carolina, Jonathan Q. Morgan, UNC School of <br />Government, June 2009. Actual survey conducted in 2006. N = 217 res np.nddents (150 cities 67 counties /110 wl pzulation <10000 107 w/ <br />ulalion >10 <br />"Based on website information of respective lead economic development organizations <br />131 Page <br />