Agenda - 09-20-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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9 1 Lydian Altman said it doesn't sound like there is an appetite on the Board to go through 2 a process to change the allocation at this point. She said she hears some commissioners 3 expressing concern for the quantification of benefits that are not reflected in the materials and 4 how that impacts the return on what is invested. 5 Chair Price said she takes issue with the materials not showing any of the benefits. She 6 said when Steve Brantley comes to the Board with a project, he reports back periodically about 7 the incentives, the tax revenue over time, the jobs created, etc. She said the information might 8 not be as granular as Commissioner Hamilton is thinking, but the Board does receive some 9 feedback on investments. 10 Commissioner Hamilton said she agrees with Chair Price that they have seen those 11 benefits, but her point is the Board doesn't see the full picture of benefits that schools provide, 12 or some of the costs involved with economic development. 13 Commissioner Richards asked if the Board could receive a scorecard on economic 14 development. She said she thinks this would help the Board, as well as community members, 15 see the full impact of economic development. She said the county had one of the largest job 16 growth numbers in the state this year, but this type of information is not widely known or 17 advertised. She proposed a quarterly or biannual report that would demonstrate the benefits of 18 economic development investments. 19 Lydian Altman said she wrote down "visible scorecard to demonstrate benefits for 20 economic development, schools, and community at large" on the "next steps" sheet. 21 Commissioner Richards said she thinks schools is a separate topic. 22 Lydian Altman identified another next step from the discussion of potentially reaffirming 23 the resolution from 2011. 24 Chair Price proposed the Board do this in September since it has already been ten years 25 since the last resolution. 26 Commissioner Bedford said there is another potential next step of looking into how to 27 identify costs of economic development. 28 Commissioner Fowler said those are typically called externalities. 29 Lydian Altman summarized the three identified next steps. 30 Chair Price said externalities are typically some of the trade-offs of development. 31 Commissioner Hamilton read a portion from the county website regarding Article 46 and 32 school funding allocations. She asked if Article 46 proceeds have been calculated out of the 33 county's allocation to schools. 34 Travis Myren and Bonnie Hammersley said only the general fund allocation is calculated 35 in the county's school funding percentage. 36 Lydian Altman asked if Commissioner Hamilton would like this to be part of next steps. 37 Commissioner Hamilton said when the Board reaffirms the resolution, she would also 38 like to make sure that this is included. 39 Lydian Altman asked if there were additional ideas for next steps, or if staff needs 40 additional direction. 41 Travis Myren said externalities are tough because they are difficult to monetize. 42 Commissioner McKee asked what is meant by externalities, because he thinks this word 43 might be vague or have differing understandings for residents. 44 Commissioner Fowler said it is the cost to the community. 45 Commissioner McKee said using the phrase "cost to the community" would be clearer 46 than externalities to residents. 47 Lydian Altman said this is a great example of being clear on what important words mean. 48 Travis Myren added that the County Attorney, John Roberts, confirmed there are no 49 limitations on Article 46 funding. 50 51 The Board recessed for a break from approximately 10:10 am until 10:20 am.