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21 Economic Deve{opment 11 membership organization that receives most of its funds from Carteret County to engage in economic development activities. The Catawba County Economic Development Corporation is chartered as a nonprofit, SOlc(3) organiza- tion that receives local government funding but also generates substantial revenue from private sources including the local Committee of 100. A last example is the City of High Point, which relies on the nonprofit, High Point Economic Development Corporation to run its economic development program. ' These private groups share the benefits of an economic development commission in that they permit the involve- ment of the local business community and facilitate cooperation among several local governments. They also bear two advantages not found with economic development commissions. First, there is no bar to their owning real property; thus they can act directly as developers of industrial parks or shell buildings or can hold industrial sites for conveyance to newly locating companies. Second, because they are private organizations, they can raise private funds within the community and spend those funds without concern for the possible constitutional or statutory limitations that ac- company public funds. (Any public moneys appropriated to these organizations, however, retain their public character and remain subject to such limitations.) A possible disadvantage of using these private organizations, depending on how their governing boards are selected, is that they may have considerable independence from local government, and therefore might sometimes pursue goals and strategies inconsistent with the wishes of local government officials. Over time, some counties and cities modify how they organize and structure their economic development activi- ties in order to clarify roles and responsibilities; improve services, streamline programs, and create cost savings (see Table 26-1). For example, Wayne County recently announced that. its Economic Development Commission, in exis- tence since 1966, will be replaced by a new, nonprofit, public/private organization to perform economic development countywide effective July 2006. This new entity will represent a formal partnership between the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, the Goldsboro Committee of 100, and the Mount Olive Committee of 100. A second example is the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, which was created in 1995 to merge the economic development.activities of two coun- ties, Edgecombe and Nash, into one nonprofit organization. Conclusion: Challenges for Local Government Economic development is a long-term process that involves numerous organizational players and a variety of tools and strategies. Much of what happens in the global, new economy appears beyond the control of individual local govern- ments. Yet local officials will do what they can to help their communities adapt, respond, and prosper in the midst of changing economic conditions and fiscal uncertainty. Counties and cities face several challenges as they seek to stimu- late private investment, promote job creation, and expand the tax base in their jurisdictions: 1. Strategic visioning, organization, and the role of local government. More communities recognize the need to be proactive and deliberate in their economic development efforts. This is evident in the increase in strategic visioning and planning efforts across the state. These planning efforts help communities be more systematic in choosing the right mix of strategies and tools. They also connect a community's goals and objectives to what is actually done in economic deveIopinent. A good strategic plan for economic development specifies which organizations will be responsible for different action steps and delineates the role of local government in the process. 2. Taking along-term view. There are no quick fixes or silver bullets in economic development. An effective approach includes a mix of strategies and tools that are consistent with a community's long-term vision and goals. Immediate results are more the exception than the norm. Counties and cities that make strategic public investments over time and implement a program that looks beyond the next election cycle are better posi- tioned to withstand the ups and downs of the new economy. 3. Using incentives as a public investment. Though widely used, incentives are considered by most to be a nec- essary evil to compete for im~estment and jobs. Very few jurisdictions are willing to take the risk of losing a potential project on the account of.not offering an incentive package to match that of rival communities. The challenge for those counties and cities that choose to use incentives is how to do so as an investment of public dollars for the greater good rather than as a mere subsidy of private business activities. To achieve this, some communities target incentives at certain Types of industries that are expected to produce higher rates of return on the public investment and tie incentives to specific job creation and investment levels. Other mechanisms to protect the public investment include payback guidelines, performance agreements, clawback provisions, and cost-benefit analysis of incentive projects. ®2007 UNC-Chapel Hill School. of Government. Do not duplicate.