Outside of Rowan

Job Development Incentive Grant Review

The NC Department of Commerce recently completed its annual review of Job Development Incentive Grants to determine if the companies awarded the grants qualified for their annual installment payment. Six of the seven firms audited met the minimum job targets in 2006 and all paid higher average salaries than required. According to the review, the state collected almost $2.7 Million in tax revenue from the companies and has paid almost $1.7 Million in grants. Companies often are conservative in setting their salary and hiring goals when part of a grant application.

Resources available from the UNC School of Government

The School of Government of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides numerous resources to the public including a robust catalog of current publications.

In June, the SOG published its annual volume of North Carolina Legislation: A Summary of Legislation in the 2006 General Assembly of Interest to North Carolina Public Officials. It is organized by subject matter and divided into twenty-six chapters. Each chapter was written by a School of Government professional staff or faculty member with expertise in the particular field addressed. The chapters are available online, free of charge online.

Recently, the SOG published County and Municipal Government in North Carolina, a complete reference book on North Carolina county and municipal government that provides a comprehensive treatment of the legal foundations, organization, and the administration of the state’s counties and cities. This book, offered in multiple formats, updates and replaces two books: County Government in North Carolina, last published in 1998; and Municipal Government in North Carolina, last published in 1996. It can be ordered in loose-leaf format, a CD-ROM version of the book, or individual articles in PDF format; or see a view-only PDF (you may view this type of file on your computer and save it for future viewing, but you will not be able to print it) online.  

NCRC Update        

The development of the North Carolina Research Campus is progressing and Kannapolis is transforming. If you have not recently visited the downtown, it is worth your time for the construction is amazing.  The partnerships being created by the project are remarkable as well. Further information on the Campus is available from their new quarterly newsletter “The Science of Success” with the inaugural June issue available online.

Private business continues to be attracted to the Campus with Red Hat, the world's largest distributor of the open-source Linux computer-operating system, announcing in April that they will be one of the first corporate partners at the Campus. The company will establish a satellite office allowing the application of its open-source software and philosophy to the biotechnology, bioinformatics, public policy and health-care research planned by the partnering universities. Project officials said the addition of Red Hat, a high-profile company that is well-known among researchers, should help in the recruiting of other corporate partners. Some details including how many Red Hat employees will work at the campus, how soon its office will open or how much space the company will take haven't been decided.

Additionally, the relationship with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is accelerating as well. Lynne Scott Safrit, Charlotte area president of Castle & Cooke North Carolina, developer of the Campus, delivered the commencement address to graduates of the College. RCCC recently added three, new biotechnology faculty members and hosted a beta test of the new BioNetwork program titled “Biotechnology for Nonscientists.”

Charlotte Regional Partnership Annual Meeting

On June 5, more than 800 regional leaders gathered at the Charlotte Convention Center for a record-setting Charlotte Regional Partnership annual meeting. With all 16 counties represented, the core purposes of the meeting were to reaffirm commitment to the unity of the region, honoring charter members of the governing board and present the inaugural “Jerry” awards.

The meeting was emceed by Board Chairman Steve Luquire and Ronnie Bryant, President and CEO of the Partnership. Vice-Chair Ellen Ruff assisted with the presentations including presenting the charter members with a special commemoration. Randy Harrell, Executive Director of the Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission provided the invocation before the meal.  Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, and Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, provided introductions for the “Jerry” awards to Jerry Orr and Jerry Richardson respectively.

Research shows high rate of return on investment in incumbent worker training programs

While there will always be a need for workforce programs targeting the unemployed, a new study by the Upjohn Institute suggests those investments should be on par with incumbent worker training programs. Boosting the skills of the already employed has proven effective in helping states retain vulnerable businesses and industries, yet most states have steadily cut funding for such programs over the last five years. The Upjohn Institute also finds that, of the $50-60 billion a year the private sector invests in training, only about 1 percent of that is publicly subsidized. The institute conducted an evaluation of a statewide incumbent worker-training program in Massachusetts, where workers reported a 5 percent rate of return after participating in training and employers experienced a 17 percent rate of return. But the biggest winner was Massachusetts, which reaped a 38.9 percent rate of return on its state-funded investment through increased tax rolls and a stimulated economy. The brief, “Evidence About the Effectiveness of Public Training Programs for Incumbent Workers,” is available online.