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Official wants program review

County Commissioner Mark Sharpe wants to gauge the effectiveness of a state incentive program meant to lure corporations.

By BILL VARIAN
Published February 3, 2005

TAMPA - Hillsborough Commissioner Mark Sharpe called for a review Wednesday of the effectiveness of a state incentive program meant to lure corporations with high-paying jobs to Florida.

Sharpe won approval from his fellow board members to have the county's administrator and internal performance auditor analyze the numbers.

His request comes after a St. Petersburg Times story late last month chronicled how one company, JPMorgan Chase & Co., has been given or promised more than $100-million in state incentives even as it shed jobs.

Sharpe's request specifically asks the county staff to look at the Quality Target Industry program, in which the state and local governments provide corporate income tax refunds to companies that pledge to create new, high-paying jobs.

"I think it's a valuable program," Sharpe said. "I think we should have accountability at the county level."

Support for the review was unanimous.

The Times story examined a number of incentives offered to Chase, ranging from tax refunds and road work to utility improvements and training for the company's employees. State audits revealed lax oversight and slim details about actual job creation.

Sharpe said it would seem wise for the county to review what it gets in the way of job creation for its part of the incentive packages.

He specifically is seeking an inventory of projects approved, a total of the expenses and liabilities for each, and an analysis of the program's influence on area wages. He asks that County Administrator Pat Bean oversee the analysis but that Internal Performance Auditor Kathleen Mathews review the work to validate how solid it is.

While the vote was unanimous, some commissioners said the analysis may have little value. Commissioner Ken Hagan said the county won't have access to some of the records, which are kept by the state. Commission Chairman Jim Norman said the proposal should be framed more positively.

"The way I look at it as that I would like to generate a report to show us the value of the program and how we create more jobs," he said. "I'm interested in finding out how we can do more here."

[Last modified February 3, 2005, 01:07:17]