By John Peters
Editor
Jobs and taxes.
That might sound like the punch line of a bad joke (a la the only sure thing in life is death and taxes), but it is, in fact, what Halifax County Business Horizons touts as its reason for existence.
That’s what more than a dozen Littleton business owners, managers, and town officials learned last week.
Ronald D. Baker, executive director of the Halifax County Economic Development Commission, and Rick Gilstrap, past president of Horizons, were on hand to talk about Horizons, tell what it’s accomplished, and to solicit private funding through memberships from those assembled at the lunchtime meeting. The gathering was one of a series of similar meetings the group has been conducting in all the towns scattered across the county.
“Out goal is to help bring any company (to Halifax County) that creates jobs and puts more money in the tax base,” Gilstrap said.
Baker explained the group marries private economic development money to projects already under way, helping to entice businesses and industry to the region, or making their transition to the area smoother.
“We don’t start projects, but we help with projects the county or the economic development has already started,” he said.
Sometimes, that work can make a difference in filling gaps between what a company is willing or able to invest in a project and public incentives meant to lure it here.
Window Fashions, for instance, is one of the projects in which Horizons has been involved.
“We’ve given $42,000 to that project,” Baker said, in addition to providing labor to clean out the building to make it ready for renovation. “We probably did $15,000 worth of work just cleaning that building out,” he said.
Other ways Horizons can help is by footing the bill for land surveys and small contractor jobs or appraisals. Oftentimes, if a municipal government takes on such work, state law requires a series of steps, such as advertised public hearings or a lengthy bidding process, even if the eventual result is a foregone conclusion.
But, a private group such as Horizons isn’t bound by the same restrictions.
“We can do things much quicker, sometimes, than a government can,” Gilstrap said.
Baker also told the gathering that money raised in Littleton stays in Littleton to provide direct economic benefit to the town and surrounding residents.
“If you donate money, or pay to become a member, your money doesn’t go to I-95, it doesn’t go to Carolina Crossroads, or to Enfield, it’s used right here in Littleton.”
Gilstrap said Horizons is just part of a larger system of economic development in Halifax County, a system that has made a major push over the past several years to spur economic development.
“We want to make it so that we’re not such a poor county,” Gilstrap said. While there’s still work to do, he pointed to encouraging signs: Over the past six years, the annual jobless rate in Halifax County has dropped from 12.6 percent to around 6 percent.
“If you want more jobs, if you want to see Little grow, you need to be part of the system,” Baker said.
In addition to direct donations, Baker said the group raises money when people pay to become a member.
Memberships in the organization range in cost from $100 for individuals all the way up to $3,000 for corporate platinum members. That top level buys a seat on the board of directors, Baker said.
At present Baker said the agency has 141 members and an annual budget of $87,000.
“We want to get that to 200 members and a budget of $125,000,” he said.
Anyone wanting more information on Horizons can be obtained by calling the Halifax County Economic Development Commission a 536-2522.
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