Clarifying Expectations for Members of an Economic Development Advisory Group

May 15, 2012
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Vaughn Mamlin Upshaw is a Lecturer in Public Administration and Governance at the UNC School of Government.

In a previous post, I offered seven strategies for creating a successful economic development advisory board. This post continues that discussion by expanding on the importance of clarifying expectations with board members.

Most of us are quick to blame decision-makers when they fail to meet our expectations.  Often, the failure is a result of not having been clear about what was expected.  Clarifying expectations early in a relationship is an important exercise which helps all parties better understand what they need from others and what others need from them.

What happens when expectations are unclear?  In one county, the economic development advisory board began operating in a manner that was inconsistent with the goals of the county commissioners and the group became ineffective. Read more »

Analyzing Relationships for Program Assessment

May 10, 2012
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Kendra Cotton is a project director with the Community-Campus Partnership.

Understanding existing professional and social relationships and their structures is vital to maximizing communication, nurturing supportive relationships and building efficiencies among collaborators. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a multidisciplinary research method that is increasingly being used to uncover relationships among individuals and groups in both personal and professional contexts. SNA is a useful tool for evaluating programs in which relationships are important for outcomes. It allows evaluators to identify what the network is, how it operates, and how it affects program outcomes.

Through its project work with Caswell and Lenoir County organizations, the Community-Campus Partnership has cultivated an interesting collaborative network in each county with local government agencies, nonprofit entities and in some instances, private businesses. SNA is being used to assess, where possible, the strength of these relationships, but there is more work to be done in that regard. The sociograms included here provide informative visual illustrations of the partnership relationships to-date.

Read more »

Property Tax Breaks for Farms in NC: A Development Tool in Need of Reform?

May 8, 2012
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Chris McLaughlin is a School of Government faculty member.

$200 million. That’s the estimated property tax revenue North Carolina’s 100 counties defer each year under the state’s present-use value (“PUV”) property tax exclusion program for farms and other favored properties. And by “defer,” I really mean “lose,” because most of those deferred PUV taxes will never be collected.

The impact of PUV property on individual county budgets can be substantial. Consider Allegheny County, which in 2010-11 had a total taxable real property base of $1.6 billion. In that same fiscal year the county deferred taxes on $500 million of PUV property, meaning the deferred tax revenue amounted to nearly a third of the county’s entire real property tax revenue.

Although none took the same percentage hit as did Allegheny County, nearly twenty other North Carolina counties deferred PUV property value representing at least 10% of their total real property values in 2010. Coming in the midst of the dire economic climate and plummeting revenues from other taxes, a 10% reduction in county tax revenue from real property is no small matter. And don’t forget that North Carolina’s municipalities also lose tax revenue on PUV property.

In light of its financial effect on local governments, it seems fair to question whether the PUV program is worth the cost. Maybe not, says national property tax expert Professor Richard England in a recent recent article for the well regarded Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Prof. England concludes that major PUV reform is needed across the country. Before analyzing whether Prof. England’s proposals are right for North Carolina, here is a quick primer on our state’s PUV program. Read more »

Redevelopment of Historic Mill Properties – The Morganton Trading Company

May 3, 2012
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Will Lambe is the Director of the Community & Economic Development Program.

The Development Finance Initiative (DFI) at the School of Government partners with local governments in North Carolina to attract private investment for transformative projects by providing specialized finance and development expertise. The DFI team at the School of Government is developing a series of case studies to illustrate ways in which public-private partnerships and are being used to redevelop downtown properties across North Carolina.

Leaders in Morganton, NC have undertaken several transformative redevelopment projects involving complex financing with a mix of public and private funds. One of Morganton’s signature projects is the Morganton Trading Company, an adaptive mill reuse project in downtown. This short case study will summarize the redevelopment of the Morganton Trading Company. Read more »

What are the Essentials of Economic Development in North Carolina?

May 2, 2012
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Jonathan Morgan is a School of Government faculty member.

Over the past few months, I have been writing a series of blog posts that explore the important question of what works in economic development. Those posts review some of what we know about the effectiveness of various economic development strategies and tools being used around the U.S.

My experience with public officials in North Carolina, is that they are particularly interested in learning more about what works or could work right here at home in the state’s communities and regions. They want to know more about what approaches, strategies, tools, and promising practices are being used in North Carolina with some degree of success?

This will be a significant focus of the discussion among participants in the upcoming Essentials of Economic Development courses being held Read more »

What Works in Evaluating State Economic Development Incentives?

May 1, 2012
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Jonathan Morgan is a School of Government faculty member.

The Pew Center on the States recently released a report that gives North Carolina high marks for its approach to evaluating the tax incentives offered to businesses in order to promote economic development. What accounts for North Carolina’s strong showing in this “evaluation of incentive evaluations”? How does North Carolina’s approach to evaluating incentives compare to other states? Read more »

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