County commissioners stand by incentive program

Although the county plans to re-evaluate its policies on awarding economic incentives to private firms, officials believe the program is effective.

By Anna Brugmann
| 6:00 a.m. September 22, 2016

Director of the Office of Business and Economic Development Jeff Maulsby presented a review of the county's economic incentive program at Wednesday's county commission meeting.

Sarasota
News

After expressing unanimous support for the county’s economic incentive policy this week, county commissioners passed a motion to “tweak” the program.

That was the key word at Wednesday’s meeting— tweak.

Despite public criticism regarding the program’s efficacy, the commission stood by the program as a whole. The commission maintains that providing incentives to interested businesses makes Sarasota County a more competitive environment for investment overall.

Still, commissioners conceded there needs to be dialogue between residents, county staff and the business community regarding precisely what industries need to be incentives.

The county’s incentive policy has been a divisive issue since the program’s inception in 2010. The program was the subject of criticism after several businesses failed to uphold agreements with the county after receiving an up-front incentive payment.

The county eventually sought repayment of those funds, and in 2012, the county amended its policy to avoid upfront incentive awards.

Commissioner Carolyn Mason alluded to failings early in the policy’s history while voicing support for the future of the program.

“We had some hiccups in the beginning,” Mason said. “I don’t think the process is broken.”

But not everyone is so confident.

Cathy Antunes, a resident activist and former County Commission candidate, said her concerns regarding the process are tied to the beneficiaries. She believes the county is dedicated to aiding bigger, national and regional businesses rather than fostering local entrepreneurs with smaller, low-interest loans.

A look back

Commissioners are confident in their support of the county's incentive program and voiced their continued support of the program. However, the county's upcoming discussion's regarding the county's incentive policies come after a series of conflicts between past incentive recipients and the business community. Here are three of the county's high-profile incentive-related controversies.

Sanborn Studios

In 2010, the county reached a deal with Sanborn Studios that required the local film company to create 117 jobs at an average wage of $72,029 by September 2013. Ken Sanborn, the owner of the now-closed movie studio, failed to meet the requirements, prompting the county to take legal action in pursuit of repayment. After a series of countersuits, Twelfth Circuit Court Judge Rochelle Curley ordered Sanborn Studios to repay $350,000 of its $650,000 incentive package in August.

Amount Awarded: $650,000

Amount to be Repaid: $350,000

Tube Dude

The county granted Sarasota’s Tube Dude $100,000 to create 44 new jobs and expand the sculpture company's operations in 2011. Owner Scott Gerber agreed to repay $56,000 of the county's incentive package in 2014 after failing to create those positions. Gerber submitted his final payment in July of this year.

Amount Awarded: $100,000

Amount Repaid: $56,000

“Project Mulligan”

In May, the county considered a proposal that would issue $1.08 million in incentive funds to get a national roofing company to relocate its headquarters to Sarasota. However, the commission ultimately rejected its $200,000 contribution after local roofers protested the expenditure.

Amount Proposed: $200,000

Amount Awarded: $0

“Their focus is toward poaching and luring companies with money,” Antunes said. “They pay lip service to fostering local companies, but I don’t see that happening.”

Mark Huey, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County, said the program equally supports local businesses, as well as businesses looking to relocate to Sarasota County. The EDC assists the county in bringing new businesses to invest in Sarasota County, with incentive funds serving as one tool to pursue that goal.

“The program was designed very intentionally to be supportive of local companies as well as companies moving here,” Huey said.

According to a memo from Jeff Maultsby, director of the county office of business and economic development, the program has created 2,000 jobs and facilitated the expansion or relocation of 35 businesses to the county.

Wednesday’s discussion also reflected the contentious conversation regarding “Project Mulligan,” a proposal to award North American Roofing more than $1 million in incentives to relocate its headquarters to Sarasota County. The money would have been generated through a combination of county and state funds.

The commission denied the appropriation in late May after members of the business community argued the incentive package would only bring more competition to a healthy local industry.

Commissioner Christine Robinson, who also sits on the EDC’s board, emphasized the need for more conversation between county staff and the business community regarding incentives.

“It can’t be everybody nodding at each other and agreeing with each other,” Commissioner Robinson said. “It has to be a real political discussion.”

For now, those involved in the incentive process continue to express support for the spirit of the program. Those officials hope to secure broader community support as the policy is revisited.

“One of the strengths that this community has had is alignment of all parties,” Huey said. “Diversifying the economy is hard work. It really does require everyone to work together.”