By By BETTY MITCHELL GRAY
Staff Write
Beaufort County, yet again, is considered by the N.C. Department of Commerce to be among the 40 most-distressed counties in North Carolina.
For at least the fourth year in a row, the department ranked Beaufort County as a Tier 1 county for 2010, according to tier designations released earlier this week by the department. Tier 1 status places Beaufort County at the lowest state ranking of counties.
Continued Tier 1 status for Beaufort and other northeastern North Carolina counties shows that the state is not doing enough to help lift the region out of poverty, according to Tom Thompson, executive director of the Beaufort County Economic Development Commission,
“The state of North Carolina has never had a strong strategic plan for ending poverty,” he said. “The programs they do have do favor Tier 1 counties and that’s a good thing. However, the state’s most potent grants go to companies that tend to relocate to metropolitan areas.”
The Department of Commerce’s report is proof that more needs to be done to help northeastern North Carolina counties recruit small to medium-sized businesses and industry to the region, Thompson said.
Of 24 northeastern North Carolina counties located generally east of Interstate 95 and north of or along U.S. Highway 70, 15 are Tier 1 counties, nine are Tier 2 counties. There are no Tier 3 counties in the region, according to the department’s report.
In addition to Beaufort, northeastern Tier 1 counties include Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell, Washington and Wayne counties. Northeastern Tier 2 counties include Craven, Currituck, Dare, Nash, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt and Wilson counties.
The rankings are based on an assessment of each county’s unemployment rate, median household income, population growth and assessed property value per capita. In addition, any county with a population of less than 12,000 or a county with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents with 19 percent or more of those people living below the federal poverty level automatically are designated as among the most-distressed counties.
Since July, Beaufort County’s unemployment rates has hovered around 11 percent, reaching 11.6 percent in July. That month, Beaufort County’s work force totaled 21,113 people, with 18,733 on the job and 2,380 without jobs, according to the Employment Security Commission.
Beaufort County’s median household income in 2007 was $37,343 compared to $44,772 statewide and its percent of population below the poverty level in 2007 was 16.6 percent as compared to 14.3 percent statewide, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in Beaufort County in 2000 was $81,900 compared to $108,300 statewide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But Tier 1 status doesn’t just show Beaufort County’s economic disadvantages, it also gives the county some advantages as it tries to grow, according to County Manager Paul Spruill.
“It’s every county’s goal to improve their economic outlook,” Spruill said. “But the Tier 1 status gives Beaufort County competitive advantages in terms of economic development. It positions us with more tools in our tool box.”
The designations, which are mandated by state law, determine a variety of state funding opportunities to help counties with economic development, according to Commerce Secretary J. Keith Crisco.
“Our goal is to encourage economic development statewide so all of our residents can find sustainable, well-paying jobs regardless of their location,” Crisco said. “The tier designations provide strong tools to help make our less prosperous counties more attractive to businesses looking to relocate or expand.
Using a formula mandated by state statute, the Department of Commerce compiles statistics for each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, applies the formula and assigns a tier designation ranking from 1 to 3. Tier 1 counties are the most economically distressed and Tier 3 counties are the least. Businesses that locate in lower-tiered counties may be eligible for grant programs and larger tax credits than those that locate in higher-ranked areas.
State law calls for the 40 most distressed counties to become Tier 1 counties, the middle 40 counties to be designated as Tier 2 and the 20 most prosperous counties to become Tier 3 counties. In the 2010 rankings, two counties tied, resulting in 41 Tier 2 counties and 19 in Tier 3.
Under Tier 1 status, a county may provide a $12,500 tax credit for each full-time job created by a new business or industry and a 7 percent tax credit for eligible business property expenditures. Businesses and industries must meet specific criteria to qualify for the tax credits, including having five or more full-time employees.