Capital watch

Secrecy surrounds incentives state and local officials may have considered in the Amazon 2nd headquarters search.

SC Department of Commerce spokesperson Adrienne Fairwell told me they didn’t formally offer any taxpayer-backed incentives to lure Amazon’s second national headquarters here. Instead, they provided incentives information to counties if any of them wanted to compete for the project.

Fairwell said she didn’t know if any counties directly pitched Amazon. And she declined to release the “general summary of state and local incentives” provided to counties, contending the record is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act.

I pointed out that information about incentives already is available on the Commerce Department’s website. What specifically in the summary could be considered legally exempt? She replied it can be withheld from the public as a “working paper.”

Amazon has decided to split its 2nd national headquarters between New York and Washington, D.C., and plans to create 50,000 jobs. It reportedly received promises of incentives of more than $2 billion.

The Upstate SC Alliance, a nonprofit economic developer for 10 northwest counties, submitted a proposal. The Charlotte Regional Partnership, which represents 16 counties in the Carolinas, including Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York counties; and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce also submitted a joint proposal.

No details were publicly released about incentives for Amazon. Jacob Hickman of the Upstate Alliance said they presented no incentives as “We never got that far.”

The Commerce Department’s budget request for next fiscal year includes $5 million for regional economic development including $750,000 for the Upstate SC Alliance.

Amazon, which has a large distribution center in Lexington County, already is benefiting from SC taxpayers. Based on state records received under the Freedom of Information Act, the estimated 10-year public cost of a similar Spartanburg distribution center was $12.16 million.

Commerce typically maintains secrecy about projects. It often blacks out detail it contends is “confidential proprietary information” under the state open-records law.

Since 2015, 14 companies that committed to locating or expanding in South Carolina collectively repaid nearly $7 million in state grants after failing to meet job creation or investment requirements.

The state reduced workforce and investment requirements under a $1.3 million grant benefiting Element TV in Fairfield County. Element earlier announced it would close its plant, laying off 126 workers.

Ty Davenport, Fairfield County’s economic development director, estimated the plant employs at least 100 full-time workers, well below the promised 500 jobs over 5 years.

Starting July 1, Commerce wants at least $9.9 million more from lawmakers. That includes $3.7 million for its “closing fund” used for economic development projects.

Commerce’s budget is $235.5 million.

As of July 1, 2018, it had more than $49 million in general fund reserves.

Brundrett is the news editor of The Nerve. Contact him at 803-254-4411 or rick@thenerve.org .