Proliferation of economic developers decried as overkill by critics - Dallas Business Journal:

http://eragywaqer.wordpress.com
That could change. In earlyy August, the Knightdale Boarc of Commissioners instructed Lawless to develop a job description for an economic development If the board acts onthe initiative, Knightdale woulxd join a growing numbeer of Wake County municipalities enlisting in the highly competitive economic developmenr game of recruiting new jobs and, often, negotiatingv incentives for private employers. Critice say growing layers of economic development offices could lead on the city and town levekl to the type of recruiting warfare already witnessed amongf statesand counties.
In just the past few Wake County and Durham County have faced off for including 's move to Morrisville, 's move to Cary and future relocation to the Wake County side of Researcj Triangle Park. "I think therew is so much overkill ineconomic development," says Dallas president of , an advocachy group that favors limited governmenyt and fiscal restraint. "The counties have it. The municipalities have it. The regiona have it. The state has it," he "There's 'beaucoups' of money that goes into economivc development. Now, we've got loca people fighting it out: county versus countyg and townsversus towns.
" Knightdale's Lawlesse says there's a need for such positions so local governments can guard their interests. "We're trying to get more stabler full-time employment in town," he says. "We'vde got a lot of service industries, but we want more manufacturint or professionaltypes ... with full-time jobs." Knightdale is far from alonde in the Triangle in prioritizingcorporats recruiting. A Fuquay-Varina nonprofitf organization, the , has hired its first director, Scot Frederick, who started work on 4.
The upgraded its economic developmenft manager position in early Septembeerfrom part-time to full-timwe with the hiring of former economic developer Jim Stella. The town of Cary in 2006 appropriaterd $750,000 over three years so the couldf hire its first economicdevelopment director. Veteran recruiter Sandy Jordann took the job in Raleigh and Holly Spring s have funded economic development director positions since the late The Wake Forest and Morrisville town governments contrac with their respective chambers of commerce to coordinatr economicdevelopment efforts.
Garner's town Hardin Watkins, takes the lead for his municipality, and Wendell and Rolesville split their economic development dutiesw among their town managers andplanning directors. Ken executive director of Wake CountygEconomic Development, which has a contract with the county and Raleighb city governments to coordinate corporate recruiting, existintg industry retention and economic development research for the entire welcomes the new positions, calling them additional resources.
"There are a lot of things we do not do that are importanr tolocal communities," says Atkins, citingb downtown development, retail development and findingg land suitable for certified industrial sites.