by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
One of the City’s top corporate recruiters warned the JEDC Thursday that its emerging incentive policy could hinder Jacksonville’s pursuit of big business.
With the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission putting the final touches on new policies designed to specify when and where City-funded development incentives can be used, Jerry Mallot, the director of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Cornerstone economic development program, asked that guidelines not be set too rigidly.
A process without flexibility would handcuff the City’s public and private dealmakers, he said, and could put Jacksonville at a competitive disadvantage.
Mallot’s comments came before the JEDC presented a draft version of its new incentive policies during its meeting at the University of North Florida. Commission chairman Ceree Harden said the final draft should be ready for City Council review by next month.
The policy will require approval from both the Council and Mayor John Peyton.
Peyton ordered the JEDC to build more specifics into the incentive process when he ordered a complete overhaul
of the commission last year. Peyton
wanted development deals measured objectively with less risky projects
having the best shot at City money. But Mallot warned the commission not to go too far.
“If the goal here is to develop a policy where no bad deal ever occurs we may end up with a process that appears difficult to get through,” he said. “It makes it harder for us in Jacksonville when we’re competing with other places trying to attract the kind of companies that bring in the kind of jobs we’re talking about.”
Mallot was referring specifically to large companies that would bring jobs to the City in the finance, technology and medical sectors. Those high-wage jobs are the JEDC’s primary target. The national competition to attract those jobs is fierce.
Mallot worried that Jacksonville’s evaluation process could be perceived as too much trouble for companies that could go anywhere. He was concerned that the bar might be set too high for companies to receive incentives and that the six-week process took too long.
“Some people might say ‘Well, if you want City money this is what you have to go through.’ But those companies can say ‘Well, that’s true but... I could just as easily go to Charlotte’,” said Mallot.
Mallot’s comments found sympathetic ears on the commission. Several members expressed the difficulty of finding the middle ground between specifics and obstructions. The commission made changes to the draft incentive policy to make some of its more sought after incentives more accessible to big corporations. The commission will also maintain the ability to waive its guidelines for blockbuster deals.
Mallot said he felt better walking out of the meeting than he did walking in.
“It’s a tough job that they have, and they’re doing a terrific job. They’re trying to build a policy based on numbers and metrics but still leave some flexibility. Their sense is they can do that and I think they’re on the right track.”
The process still takes too long, he said, but that’s not likely to change. Unlike many of its competitors, Jacksonville requires approval from the JEDC and the Council for incentive packages. Mallot said the only way to streamline the approval process would be to remove one of those bodies from it.