Two months after receiving new contract, Horry County jobs agency in line for one-year extension

Horry County’s industry recruitment agency could receive a one-year contract extension worth $700,000 next week — two months after county officials signed off on a two-year deal with the group.

Horry County Council plans to vote on the agreement with the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. (EDC) on Tuesday. Officials say the deal would help the agency find a new president. The group’s former CEO, Jim Moore, resigned in June and EDC leaders have recently been interviewing candidates.

“Anybody that comes in is going to want a three-year contract,” County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus said.

None of the candidates for the job specifically asked for a three-year agreement, but local leaders anticipate the issue will come up.

“That’s more our intuition and a general understanding of the economic development business,” said Fred Richardson, the EDC’s board chairman. “That’s typical.”

He added that an extended contract would show the agency has stable long-term funding.

County leaders approved a two-year contract for the EDC in July that would guarantee $1.3 million for the agency each year.

Under the proposal that will be discussed Tuesday, the amount the EDC would receive from the county would decrease by $200,000 annually, meaning the EDC would receive $1.1 million per year for three years. The $200,000 would have paid for incentives that reward companies for moving to the area or expanding their existing operations.

However, Lazarus said, the overall amount of incentives money remains unchanged, but it’s paid out over three years instead of two.

“You still have the same money,” he said. “It just extends it over a period of time.”

The only extra public money being spent would be the $700,000 to cover another year of EDC operations.

Lazarus did note that the county is receiving enough income from fees and rent payments from other economic development deals to cover the additional $700,000.

“It wouldn’t come from any fund other than the economic development funds that we’ve already got established,” he said.

Despite those assurances, Tuesday’s vote likely won’t be unanimous.

Councilman Harold Worley said he didn’t vote for the EDC contract in July and he doubts he will support this one, though he’s willing to discuss the matter.

“I just don’t think we should be spending that money buying jobs,” he said. “I’ve seen nothing that changes my mind.”

The EDC has seen mixed success since local leaders reorganized the agency five years ago.

Moore’s predecessor, Brad Lofton, announced more than 1,500 jobs during his three years running the agency, but about half of those positions have not been filled and some never will be, according to the county’s July jobs report.

The first industry expansion Lofton announced was for AvCraft Technical Services, which filed for bankruptcy in March. Another, Ithaca Gun Co., never signed a contract with the EDC and withdrew from the area. Those firms accounted for 270 of the jobs on Lofton’s press releases.

Of the companies recruited by the EDC that are still in business, county contracts require them to create 1,255 jobs. So far, 773 of those positions have been filled, according to public records.

Although the applicant pool for EDC president has narrowed in recent weeks, the agency’s leaders haven’t chosen finalists.

“We’re still whittling,” Richardson said. “We’re not in a big hurry. We’ve got some good things going on right now. We’re expecting an announcement for a new company next week and we’ve got several others in the pipeline. So we’re focusing on our recruitment efforts.”

County Councilman Gary Loftus, who also sits on the EDC’s board, said he’s not worried about extending the agency’s contract for a year. He said the move makes sense, especially considering the agency is recruiting a new CEO.

“Three years seems to be the norm,” he said. “If you haven’t got it going after three years, you’re out of here anyway.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Two months after receiving new contract, Horry County jobs agency in line for one-year extension."