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OBSERVATIONS
April 15, 2021 |
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 Wingate Lassiter |
Benson plant's expansion welcome
news in spite of the games we play
Good news on the economic front with Monday's announcement of an expansion project at Benson's Berry Global plant that will add 63 jobs to its existing workforce of 217. It's an industry that opened in 1968 under the name Chicopee and, like others on the Johnston County scene, has operated under several names over the years --- a common occurrence on the ever-changing American corporate landscape.
But I'm still troubled by the "incentives game" local officials must play to land these industrial expansion projects.
Johnston County Economic Development
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Berry has signed agreements approved Monday by Johnston's County Commissioners and the Benson Town Board that pledges an investment of more than $70 million resulting in those additional jobs. In return, the county will return about $3.5 million on property taxes based on the new investment over a seven-year period while retaining about $2.3 million of those taxes during that time, according to Chris Johnson, the county's economic development director. The Town of Benson will "grant back" $805,600 over the seven years while keeping $2,162,400 in additional property taxes it will receive from Berry.
"I would like to reiterate that any economic development often comes with 'no risk' to the taxpayers," Mr. Johnson notes. "If the required benchmarks set forth in the agreement (new investment, new jobs) are not met, no incentive is given."
It's a "game" played frequently throughout North Carolina and the rest of the nation as state and local governments compete for industrial expansion projects. The companies, of course, are always beneficiaries even as there are winners and "losers" among the competing governments.
Is it fair? I don't think so. Why should some companies get these tax breaks while others that decide to expand operations do not, simply because they don't ask for such assistance in advance?
A fairer system would be to grant these incentives to any and all employers that document capital investment and job creation. Either that, or do away with such government-chosen incentives altogether --- an option that apparently won't happen so long as court challenges to the practice continue to be denied.
WHERE READERS HAVE THEIR SAY
The
closing of Tucker Furniture brought back many
memories:
My father Charles (Charlie) Lee was a salesperson
for Tucker Furniture for many years. He drove a
pickup truck loaded with furniture throughout the
county, selling to farm families who often paid the
bill off at a dollar a week. He loved meeting all
the people and often came home with fresh vegetables
or a watermelon that brought joy to his six
children.
My aunt, Pauline Lee, was the bookkeeper and floor
salesperson at the store. She was also active in the
Eastern Star and knew many customers by name since
she ate at Mrs. Fleming’s boarding house every day.
Prior to working at Tucker’s, Aunt Pauline was the
"postmistress" of Four Oaks.
The manager of that store was Virgil Batten. He was
one of the nicest men you could ever meet. He and
his family were active in the Free Will Baptist
Church. The Battens were the only people who would
invite the Lee family and all six children to
dinner! Mrs. Batten (Ina Lee) was the world’s best
cook and made iced tea so sweet that we thought a
spoon would stand up in it.
One year, Mr. Batten arranged for all of us to go
with his family to Pullen Park (in Raleigh). That
was a marvel to us. Several years ago, his daughter
Gwen Heath sent me some old photographs she found
after her mother died. They were made on the trip to
Pullen Park, and among them is the only picture I
have ever seen of my mother Mary Lou, my father
Charlie, and the six children: Shirley, Jean, Ann,
Linda, Charles, and David. What a treasure.
The Tucker family was a treasure also. They were
active in the Gideon society for many years and
displayed Christian concern for all of their
employees.
This is another loss for Downtown Smithfield and its
history.
ANN
HUCKENBECK
Troy, Ohio
My grandfather taught me to never take power for granted.
When I was a child, one of my favorite things to do was ride with my grandfather in his company car. He was a regional manager for Pennsylvania Power & Light. He wore a hard hat with a funny little guy on it made up of electric sparks (Reddy Kilowatt). His car was a nondescript, gray Plymouth Valiant with Reddy Kilowatt on the door, and inside was a two-way radio he used to talk to his crews.
Grandpa would take me to his office where I’d get to watch the big transformers hum as they moved power to customers. To me, my grandfather was Ready Kilowatt, always keeping the lights on. He taught me all about power, to always respect it and never take it for granted. His lineman’s cutters, knife, and hard hat are still in my toolbox as a daily reminder.
For most of us, power is that invisible thing we don’t give a second thought to. It’s always there --- allowing us to see, keeping us cool in summer and warm in winter, and powering all of the electronic devices we’ve become so dependent upon. It’s always there, until it’s not.
The recent events in Texas quickly brought something many of us rarely think about to the top of our minds. The reality is that without power, our lives as we know them stop. When one of the most basic elements of our daily lives is suddenly inaccessible, we find ourselves in survival mode with no way to cook, keep warm, or communicate. The list could go on.
The thing is, there’s a lot of planning and hard work that goes into ensuring the lights come on when we need them to. Getting power to our homes and businesses is a complex process, especially when you think about the fact that it must be used as soon as it’s produced.
It must be generated, transmitted, and delivered to each customer 24/7, 365 days a year, and currently there’s no effective way to store large quantities. In the business world, that means that supply must always equal demand with just enough inventory (back-up generation) to avoid a system failure.
Today, most of our power supply comes from coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy. Unfortunately, there are challenges with these forms of energy generation, which is why it’s important that our community, region, and state come together to advance new technologies that can provide a reliable, clean, safe, and affordable energy future for North Carolina.
For example, Duke Energy has retired coal plants, helped North Carolina become a leader in solar, and worked to strengthen our energy grid, all in pursuit of the state’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is a great start.
At the end of the day, it takes a lot of partnership, innovative thinking, thoughtful planning, and dedicated people to give the majority of us the everyday privilege of turning on a light switch. It is a result of this continued collaboration that we will be able to better protect our planet and our communities for generations to come.
In the meantime, in honor of National Lineman Appreciation Day on April 18, let’s take a moment to recognize all of the Reddy Kilowatts, like my grandfather, who work tirelessly to provide what we should never take for granted.
MIKE MANCUSO
President & CEO, Triangle East Chamber of Commerce
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