"My thanks for Mayor Vaughan’s column, “City handles incentives effectively” (Ideas, Dec. 29). It is good to know that the businesses receiving such incentives must create the promised jobs before receiving the incentive money.
However, there is a basic question I have not seen answered: Do incentives work? Do they bring jobs that otherwise would not be created?
Has any company ever seriously said, after expanding its existing business or after locating it here for the first time, “Without the incentive from the City Council, we would not have a) expanded our business/workforce, or b) located our business in Greensboro”?
Many thanks to whomever may be able to answer this question, particularly owners of businesses that have received incentives."
It will be interesting indeed to know the answers to Ms Allison's questions so in the interest of furthering along the process I have prepared the following PIRT (Public Information Request) and submitted it to the City of Greensboro:
"Please answer the following questions and provide data to back up your answers:
Do incentives bring jobs to Greensboro that would otherwise not be created?
Do incentives create jobs in Greensboro that weren't already needed to be filled?
Historically, in Greensboro, do incentives employ more existing residents over recruiting new workers to the area? And if so, what is the breakdown of existing residents employed to new residents who moved here to fill jobs created by incentives?
And finally, I would like a breakdown of the incentives the City of Greensboro has paid out over the last 50 years on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis.
Thank you -Billy Jones"
We'll see if they answer that request any faster than my January 1 PIRT to Mayor Vaughan or my December 19th PIRT to Councilwoman Nancy Hoffman which have both gone unanswered to date.
Continue reading Incentives In Greensboro: Part 9
