Economic development group will share more information with Horry County Council

The Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. will share more information with Horry County Council about companies that seek incentives from the corporation, and will seek to amend some incentive guidelines for expanding local businesses, according to CEO Brad Lofton.

At its monthly meeting Wednesday the executive committee of the EDC discussed the recent controversy about incentives for AvCraft, in which some county council members were concerned that they didn’t know in advance what company would receive the incentives they approved.

Lofton told the committee that he answered a lot of questions from county council members at a meeting Tuesday, but that overall he has received positive feedback about the announcement that AvCraft, an aviation maintenance and repair company, will be adding 150 jobs and improving its facilities. The announcement was the first major job announcement in Horry County in years.

“Our first announcement allowed us to evaluate the process,” Lofton said, adding that the first announcement, first incentive package and the controversy will help the agency better work through future deals.

One thing that the EDC will do better in the future is communicate with the council, he said. County council only has to approve incentives for companies that don’t meet the eligibility criteria in the incentive guidelines, but the EDC will likely inform council about all companies receiving incentives in the future, Lofton said.

County Councilman Gary Loftus who is an executive committee member of the EDC said that he and Horry County Council Chairman Tom Rice, who also serves on the EDC executive committee, will make sure that all county council members have all the information they need.

“We learned that we’re going to bring them kicking and screaming into the loop whether they want to or not,” he said. “I want to give them so much to be responsible for that they will say whatever you say is OK.”

The EDC typically uses code names for businesses in public meetings, because most companies considering a move or expansion don’t want their identity released until a deal is finalized. Loftus said with AvCraft he thought council members knew, but in the future he will make sure they do and will count on their maintaining the necessary confidentiality.

Neyle Wilson, the president of Horry Georgetown Technical College, who is also an executive committee member, said that its important for the EDC to discuss the process involved in choosing to award incentives and provide more details about the value of the jobs created.

The controversy and process was an opportunity to show county council how much research is done about each company and to build trust, said executive committee chairman Doug Wendel.

“Our new organization is still less than a year old. We’re learning and growing slowly,” he said. “We are getting better at what we’re doing.”

So far both incentive packages approved by the EDC have required a variance and approval from the EDC because they did not meet the minimum incentive guidelines passed by the Horry County Council last year.

The guidelines allow a company to receive $1,500 per job it creates, an additional $1,000 per job if it is a targeted industry and another $1,000 if the company locates its corporate headquarters in the area. To qualify, a company must invest at least $2.5 million in Horry County and create at least 35 jobs that offer health care benefits and an average wage that at least meets the average county wage as of April, which was $534 a week, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The incentives are paid for out of a closing fund that Horry County Council contributes $600,000 to each year in an effort to lure businesses and create jobs.

The EDC won’t often ask for a variance, but existing businesses often have buildings and supplies in place and won’t spend the required $2.5 million investment in an expansion, Lofton said. As a result the EDC will likely ask Horry County Council to change the guidelines and make different requirements for existing businesses that are expanding, he said.

Members of the executive committee also received a draft of the EDC’s new clawback provision, which requires a company to give back incentive money they received if they don’t create the promised number of jobs. The clawback provision will be part of all incentive packages once it gets EDC and Horry County Council approval.

The EDC executive committee also passed a new conflict of interest policy Wednesday, which will require all board members, directors and employees to disclose potential conflicts of interest and not vote on issues where they have a financial interest.