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Franklin County Economic Development Commission Progress Report

The Franklin County Economic Development Commission exists for the primary purpose of attracting new businesses and jobs to the county. The department has been operated under the leadership of Director Ronnie Goswick (a former FC Commissioner) since January of 1998. Richie Duncan, Existing Industry Coordinator, has been with the EDC since April of 2006.

I recently requested some historical data on the Commission's activities over the past 5 years, as well as a general history of the Commission. Given the tough economy with which our county government is currently struggling, coupled with preparation of the FY 2009-2010 budget which is currently underway, I felt that an examination of the Commission's overall effectiveness during the last 5 years was appropriate.

Lori Duke was kind enough to provide me with data extracted from the Commission's reports to the NC Department of Commerce. I also viewed historical data on the NC Employment Security Commission's website to find out more about business openings, closures, expansions, and layoffs over the last 5 years (2004 though 2008). Finally, I requested and received copies of the County's past 5 fiscal year records for the EDC. All of the referenced documents can be viewed by clicking the links at the end of this article.

Those sources allowed me to extract the following information about Franklin County's economic development and the cost of operating the EDC over that 5-year timeframe (each period is calculated from 1/1 though 12/31):

2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
# New Businesses
0
5
2
3
17
# Expansions
5
2
3
4
9
# New Jobs
108
133
197
15
125
# Closed Businesses
5
2
5
3
9
5
# Businesses laying off
0
0
1
0
6
1
# Jobs Lost
39
74
21
63
812
100+
Net Job Gain
+69
+59
+176
-48
-687
Net Business Gain
-5
+3
-3
0
+8

The net changes over the 5-year period (2004-2008) are:

3 New Businesses (avg. 1.1 per year)
431 Jobs Lost (avg. 86.2 per year)

NOTE: Ronnie Goswick, Director of the EDC, reported to the Franklin Times (6/12/2009 issue) that "In this county, there was a net of 375 jobs created in 2008 and over the last five years, there has been a net of 1,825 jobs created". In August of 2009, the Franklin Times challenged the 375 jobs figure and asked Goswick to explain where those jobs were. In a follow-up article, the Times reported that Goswick responded by explaining that these were actually jobs outside of Franklin County to which county residents commuted. Since I had previously questioned the same figure and been given a different response, then Mr. Goswick disseminated the same info a second time, I can only assume that his statement regarding 375 new jobs was a deliberate attempt to mislead county commissioners and the general public.

2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
7/1/2008
thru 6/30/2009
Salaries
97,333
109,916
160,033
173,898
174,740.17
Incentives & Special Projects
359,959
168,365
30,902
147,990
75,000
Other Expenses
64,512
91,877
151,992
124,542
107,754.61
Total Expenditures
521,804
370,158
342,927
446,430
357,494.78

Cost of operating EDC for 5 years = $2,038,813.70

Average Yearly cost to run EDC = $407,762.74

Details on Incentives & Special Projects (row 3 above)

Fiscal Year
Project
Expenditure
2004-05 Neeb Paving Project
$196,197.00
2004-05 Youngsville Industrial Main
$141,463.00
2004-05 Apogee Medical
$22,599.00
2005-06 Novo Water Line
$370,158.25
2005-06 Stayright PreCast
$99,013.38
2005-06 Ag Exten. Drive Project
$54,562.53
2005-06 Hub Project
$3,000.00
2005-06 Capital Projects
$1,841.00
2005-06 Capital Outlay
$4,171.71
2006-07 Hub Project
$30,902.71
2006-07 Capital Projects
$34,206.58
2006-07 Capital Outlay
$6,168.72
2007-08 Neeb Paving Project
$22,893.15
2007-08 Capital Outlay
$2,727.28
2007-08 Transfer to 48 - Youngsville
$85,097.00
2008-09 Hub Project
$20,000.00
2008-09 Capital Outlay
$1,218.40
2008-09 Company Incentive
$35,000.00
  • NEEB paving project – This was a paving project for Industrial Road to benefit Captive Air.
  • HUB project – This is expenses for the HUB site located near the airport.
  • Apogee Medical (2004-05) This was a sewer expansion incentive for Apogee Medical
  • Stayright Precast (2005-06) – Sewer Expansion
  • Transfer to 48 - Youngsville (2007-08) – Sewer expansion for Hunter Place Pump Station
  • Historic Franklin County Unemployment Rates

    6/2004

    6/2005

    6/2006

    6/2007

    6/2008

    5.8% 5.1% 4.6% 4.6% 6.5%

    12/2004

    12/2005

    12/2006

    12/2007

    12/2008

    4.8% 4.1% 3.8% 4.4% 8.2%

    2009 Franklin County Unemployment Rates
    (updated monthly)

    January 10%
    February 10.9%
    March 10.8%
    April 10.1%
    May 10.6%
    June 10.7%
    July 10.4%
    August 10%
    September 9.7%
    October 9.7%
    November
    December

    View PDF File received from EDC

    View EDC Expenditure Statements from County Finance Office (PDF)

    View 5-year Unemployment Data from NCESC (PDF)

    View 5-year Business Closure Data from NCESC (PDF)

    View 10 year Government Expenditures by Category (PDF)

    Copyright 2008,2009 by Sheila Hanna. The names "FC Stop the Rock" and "FC Concerned Citizens" are copyrighted 2008, 2009 by Sheila Hanna.
    All rights reserved - No portion of this website or the names "FC Stop the Rock" or "FC Concerned Citizens" may be used without written permission from the author.