Beaufort County leaders cautious about jumping into economic alliance

It’s been more than a year since Beaufort County has been part of a regional economic alliance, and county leaders appear to be in no hurry to jump into another partnership.

County Council’s Governmental Committee rejected a proposal Monday that would have begun a series of steps leading to the county joining forces with the Southern Carolina Alliance.

That nonprofit organization facilitates business development in Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.

Beaufort County has not been a member of such an organization since the Lowcountry Economic Alliance dissolved in 2014.

County Councilman Stu Rodman — with strong support from Councilman Rick Caporale and Councilwoman Cynthia Bensch — has spent months urging fellow county leaders to join the alliance, arguing it would be a boon to the local economy.

While other council members agree that economic development is crucial, they have been hesitant to join Southern Carolina.

Councilman Brian Flewelling said he “isn’t sure of the timing” in joining the alliance while at the same time trying to get the nascent Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation off the ground.

Councilman Jerry Stewart said joining a regional alliance is “premature” considering the county and its municipalities are still in the process of establishing the economic development corporation.

Rodman, who estimates joining Southern Carolina would cost the county roughly $300,000 in the next fiscal year, made a suggestion Monday he hoped would alleviate concerns.

The proposal put three conditions on joining Southern Carolina:

▪  a super-majority of eight council members would have to approve the move

▪  economic development corporation leaders would have to recommend joining

▪  the county would have the option of leaving the alliance after one year if the partnership failed to live up to the county’s expectations.

Still, the council’s Governmental Committee rejected the motion on a 4-3 vote.

Council members on both side of the vote expressed frustration.

“You see the level of frustration that’s going (on within the committee),” Councilman Gerald Dawson said. “That’s only going to continue if we keep trying to forge an alliance before we have all of the other things in place.”

Bensch said members of the council are acting like “a bunch of high schoolers” in their squabbling about joining an alliance.

Rodman urged expediency, saying, “We’ve been (talking about joining an economic alliance) for a year and we are missing opportunities,” he said.

Supporters of joining an alliance are likely to make another last minute push to convince their fellow council members to join.

The council, along with town staff, is in the process of developing a new budget for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

If the county were to join the Southern Carolina Alliance, the council would likely have to agree to set aside money in the new budget for that purpose.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Beaufort County leaders cautious about jumping into economic alliance."