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Beaufort County unable to shake its Tier 1 status
Once again, countyis among 40 poorestcounties in the state
By TED STRONG
Staff Writer
Beaufort County — again — is one of the state’s most economically distressed counties, according to ratings announced Monday by Jim Fain, North Carolina’s secretary of commerce.
The county received a Tier 1 designation, which is given to the 40 most-distressed counties in the state and entitles the county to extra growth incentives. The designation is for 2009.
Hyde, Martin and Washington counties are also Tier 1 designees for 2009.
“We’ve lost a lot of jobs, and I think we need to stay in the Tier 1 status,” said Rep. Arthur Williams, a Democrat who represents Beaufort County and part of Pitt County in the N.C. General Assembly. “It’s bad that we’re there, but because of the economy, Beaufort County will benefit by being Tier 1 right now.”
Tier 1 counties can offer businesses $12,500 in tax credits per new job and a 7-percent tax credit for certain property expenditures. The 40 middlingly distressed Tier 2 counties can offer $5,000 per job and 5-percent tax credits on property expenditures. The 20 least-distressed counties, called Tier 3 counties, get only $750 per job and 3.5.-percent tax credits on property expenditures.
Also, the minimum number of jobs created and minimum amount of money invested for the tax credits to kick in is substantially lower in Tier 1 counties.
The designations are based on a formula written by the General Assembly that involves each county’s unemployment rate, median household income, population growth and assessed property value per capita.
The credits are part of a push to counterbalance the disadvantages rural counties face in recruiting businesses, said Deborah Barnes, spokeswoman for Fain’s office.
“It’s harder to get them to go to smaller, more-rural areas, and so this is an attempt to make the playing field a little more level,” she said.
The financial benefits are a powerful silver lining to the black cloud that is word that the county is among the poorest in the state, according to county officials.
“There’s kind of a good news/bad news element to the designation,” said Tom Thompson Jr., Beaufort County’s chief economic developer
County Manager Paul Spruill expressed similar sentiments.
“I don’t think it’s any county’s goal in the state of North Carolina to achieve a Tier 1 economic designation, but we also recognize the investment the General Assembly makes in economic investment initiatives due to the designation and we’re appreciative of their help,” he said.
But Beaufort County still must compete with 39 economically distressed counties for that state aid.
“There are 40 Tier 1 counties, so it gives us a slight advantage,” Thompson said. “Our tax credits are substantially higher than Tier 2 and Tier 3.”
The current, three-tier system is the result of a 2006 law. Before that, there were 5 tiers designated, and Beaufort County was still among the poorest.
“We think that it would be helpful to have the state give more weighting to poverty,” Thompson said.
Barnes said the changes were made for a number of reasons, among them an effort to cut the frequency with which counties move from tier to tier.
She said the new system means that businesses can plan more effectively on what type of tax credits they will receive for investing in specific counties.
“The idea is to help with planning purposes,” she said.
This year, Duplin, Wayne and Yancey counties moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2; Craven County moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3; Franklin County dropped from Tier 3 to Tier 2; and Chowan and Wilkes Counties moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
By TED STRONG
Staff Writer
Beaufort County — again — is one of the state’s most economically distressed counties, according to ratings announced Monday by Jim Fain, North Carolina’s secretary of commerce.
The county received a Tier 1 designation, which is given to the 40 most-distressed counties in the state and entitles the county to extra growth incentives. The designation is for 2009.
Hyde, Martin and Washington counties are also Tier 1 designees for 2009.
“We’ve lost a lot of jobs, and I think we need to stay in the Tier 1 status,” said Rep. Arthur Williams, a Democrat who represents Beaufort County and part of Pitt County in the N.C. General Assembly. “It’s bad that we’re there, but because of the economy, Beaufort County will benefit by being Tier 1 right now.”
Tier 1 counties can offer businesses $12,500 in tax credits per new job and a 7-percent tax credit for certain property expenditures. The 40 middlingly distressed Tier 2 counties can offer $5,000 per job and 5-percent tax credits on property expenditures. The 20 least-distressed counties, called Tier 3 counties, get only $750 per job and 3.5.-percent tax credits on property expenditures.
Also, the minimum number of jobs created and minimum amount of money invested for the tax credits to kick in is substantially lower in Tier 1 counties.
The designations are based on a formula written by the General Assembly that involves each county’s unemployment rate, median household income, population growth and assessed property value per capita.
The credits are part of a push to counterbalance the disadvantages rural counties face in recruiting businesses, said Deborah Barnes, spokeswoman for Fain’s office.
“It’s harder to get them to go to smaller, more-rural areas, and so this is an attempt to make the playing field a little more level,” she said.
The financial benefits are a powerful silver lining to the black cloud that is word that the county is among the poorest in the state, according to county officials.
“There’s kind of a good news/bad news element to the designation,” said Tom Thompson Jr., Beaufort County’s chief economic developer
County Manager Paul Spruill expressed similar sentiments.
“I don’t think it’s any county’s goal in the state of North Carolina to achieve a Tier 1 economic designation, but we also recognize the investment the General Assembly makes in economic investment initiatives due to the designation and we’re appreciative of their help,” he said.
But Beaufort County still must compete with 39 economically distressed counties for that state aid.
“There are 40 Tier 1 counties, so it gives us a slight advantage,” Thompson said. “Our tax credits are substantially higher than Tier 2 and Tier 3.”
The current, three-tier system is the result of a 2006 law. Before that, there were 5 tiers designated, and Beaufort County was still among the poorest.
“We think that it would be helpful to have the state give more weighting to poverty,” Thompson said.
Barnes said the changes were made for a number of reasons, among them an effort to cut the frequency with which counties move from tier to tier.
She said the new system means that businesses can plan more effectively on what type of tax credits they will receive for investing in specific counties.
“The idea is to help with planning purposes,” she said.
This year, Duplin, Wayne and Yancey counties moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2; Craven County moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3; Franklin County dropped from Tier 3 to Tier 2; and Chowan and Wilkes Counties moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
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