By Gerri Miller
Staff Writer
Maintaining confidentiality when a company is looking to locate or expand in your town is one of the primary tenets of economic development, said Jim Searcy, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama.
Searcy, a Prattville resident, was the guest speaker at the Prattville Industrial Development Board’s quarterly meeting held this week in the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce conference room.
Board Chairman Kyle Glover presented his ideas for a more active organization that is well educated on economic development at the Board’s August meeting. One of those ideas was having experts speak to the Board.
Before Searcy’s presentation, Glover gave each Board member a book entitled “Economic Development Is Not for Amateurs!” The book, written by two economic development experts, helps community leaders involved in economic development identify the steps they can implement to create a roadmap for long-term economic success.
Searcy said that when a company reaches out to the Alabama Department of Commerce or other economic development groups to get information on a town, they rarely disclose the company’s name.
“Companies don’t want information on their project to get out early,” he said. “Disclosing this information can impact the company’s operations. They want to control when and how the information gets out.”
Searcy said well-meaning local organizations or individuals who make direct contact with company officials to try to influence their location decision can hurt the city’s chances of winning the project.
One of the keys to landing projects is trust-you must be able to trust your local economic development team and public officials involved in the project.
“It is in a politician’s best interest to spread the good news,” Searcy said, “but you don’t want to do it early. Searcy said there must be a project leader who keeps everyone in the loop as much as possible but still maintains the integrity of the project.
Searcy said there is nothing nefarious about confidentiality on a project- it is just a good business practice. “The key is that our economic development team and the company’s team have a good relationship.”
Searcy said economic developers may work on a project for months without knowing the company’s real name. The project is generally given a code name such as Project Rosewood for the Mercedes-Benz project in Tuscaloosa.
In 1993, a team of economic leaders and professionals was formed with the task of bringing Mercedes to Alabama. Despite competing with 49 other states for the company’s attention and seemingly impossible odds, the team was able to get Mercedes’ representatives on their side.
Searcy said a Tennessee newspaper published a description of the company that was accurate enough that people could figure out the company name. Tennessee was cut from the competition shortly after the story was published.
One of the most controversial actions in 2018 was the Legislature’s passage of a bill that distinguishes the role of economic developer in the state from that of lobbyist. Since 2010, the state of Alabama had required economic developers to register as “lobbyists.”
Lawmakers and the state’s industrial recruiters say the bill was needed to protect the confidentiality of site selection efforts by representatives of companies interested in coming to Alabama. Lobbyists are required to report to the Ethics Commission who they represent and information about their activities. These reports were available to the public and sometimes the name of the company was revealed early.
The bill said that an economic development professional is not a lobbyist unless he or she seeks economic incentives from the Legislature in addition to what are already provided by state law. Economic development professionals can work for businesses, chambers of commerce, cities, counties, or other organizations.
“It was really a close call for some of our projects,” Searcy said.
Glover said future meetings will include discussion about the role of the Industrial Development Board in the community as well as developing a strategic plan. Future guest speakers specializing in other facets of economic development are also planned.
