From Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie:
Dear Concerned Citizens:
I want to address the many comments and concerns our office has received lately about Resolution 15-12, and make sure that you have all the correct information. Your opinions and concerns are important and I want to make sure they are addressed.
Resolution 15-12 authorized Harford Counties Economic Development department to release $100,000 of the department’s funds over three years under the workplace training grant program. In addition, it endorsed the States loan for $750,000 for construction costs including expansion of its current manufacturing operations and renovations and the leasing and renovations of an additional facility, including, installation of new equipment purchases and upgrades.
First and foremost it is important to understand what the Workforce Technical Training Grant Program is. WFTTG is a competitive investment grant program to assist Harford County employers to become more productive and competitive through the acceleration of technical training to their employees. The county budget allocates money each year for the program, and is restricted by strict criteria on how they can spend it and what they can spend it on. The goal of this program and other programs like it is training a better workforce within Harford County and creating jobs in Harford County. The business must be located in Harford County and the employee must work in Harford County and be paid directly by the Harford County business. All businesses may apply. The applications go to the Review Committee which consists of Economic Development Advisory Board members, representative of Harford County’s Corporate Community and representatives from Harford County Government. The Review Committee meets three times a year to review the applications. To be approved the business must complete the Workforce Technical Training Grant Application, have job classifications, and meet the level of training needed. They must have a positive economic impact on the company and on the County. The cost of training cannot exceed $1,000 per person per fiscal year, no outstanding business indebtedness to Harford County Government, and consideration will be given to the number of employees for which training grants are requested compared to the number of employees within the company. This program is open to any business operating in Harford County. During the last three years the WFTTG has served more than 75 Harford County companies, both large and small, and within a broad range of industries. The program has provided training assistance to 1,326 employees.
This program is used as an incentive for business to grow and improve their workforce. The better qualified their employees the more marketable they are. Harford County is investing in its residences. Approximately 70% of Smiths employees are Harford County Residents and they continue to make every effort to hire within Harford County. Workforce development is a partnership among government, higher education, K-12 schools and industry seeking to foster a productive, skilled and competitive workforce, including high-tech research and development personnel and employees with science, technology, engineering and mathematical training. This is a win win situation. Harford County residents will benefit from higher education courses, our higher educational facilities will benefit from the additional enrollment and new classes, and business will be able to employ higher skilled and qualified employee’s right here in Harford County. In addition, if Smith’s Detection does not hire the 103 new employees and lease the building and remain at the 325 employee level through 2016 then the three year loan that the State provided will need to be paid back in full with 3% interest and the Workplace Training Grant will be pulled.
Other States and Counties have other more rigorous and business friendly incentive programs including:
– The Boulder City Council flexible rebate business incentive program, which authorizes the Council to consider approval of rebates of certain taxes and fees to primary employers in the city, provided that the companies meet eligibility requirements and sustainability guidelines.
– The Microloan fund is which supply’s general working capital to qualifying small businesses and nonprofit organizations. They grant loans of up to $50,000.
– The Governor’s Opportunity Fund (GOF) is a discretionary incentive available to the Governor to secure a business location or expansion project for Virginia. Grants are awarded to localities on a local matching basis with the expectation that the grant will result in a favorable location decision for the Commonwealth.
– The Virginia Investment Partnership (VIP) Grant and the Major Eligible Employer Grant (MEE) are discretionary performance incentives designed to encourage continued capital investment by Virginia companies, resulting in added capacity, modernization, increased productivity, or the creation, development and utilization of advanced technology.
– The Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant (VEDIG) is a discretionary performance incentive, designed to assist and encourage companies to invest and create new employment opportunities by locating significant headquarters, administrative or service sector operations in Virginia.
– The Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP) is a program that offers customized recruiting and training assistance to companies that are creating new jobs or experiencing technological change. The program is designed to reduce the human resource development cost of new and expanding companies.
– Virginia offers a variety of tax credits that are available for use against a company’s corporate tax liability:
Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit
Recycling Equipment Tax Credit
Day Care Facility Investment Tax Credit
Worker Retraining Tax Credit
Virginia Port Tax Credit Programs
Research and Development Tax Credit
Green Job Creation Tax Credit
– Virginia offers some of the broadest sales and use tax exemptions in the U.S.
– Virginia does not tax intangible property, manufacturers’ inventory, and manufacturers’ furniture, fixtures and corporate aircraft.
– Administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation, this program assists localities in providing adequate road access to new and expanding basic employers.
– TPOF is a discretionary grant available for transportation-related issues related to unique economic development projects.
The list could go on and on. States must be competitive if they want to keep businesses within their State and or County. Why would a business want to stay in an area that is not assisting in their growth or investing in them? Like many of us we will go where we can be the most successful and productive. It is important that Harford County works hard to retain its largest employers including Rite Aid Mid-Atlantic Dist. Center, Jacobs Technology, Klein’s ShopRites of Maryland, SAIC, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Alcore. Due to Harford County’s Economic Development program and many dedicated Harford County government workers, Harford County had the fastest over the year wage growth among Maryland’s eight large counties and the third fastest nationwide and Harford County had an increase of 6,410 jobs. With more businesses and more jobs comes additional tax revenue and opportunity for growth.
Some agree with the program and see its value but want to know why Smith’s Detection? The Harford County Council did not have any involvement with choosing which company the grant goes to but I feel that Smiths Detection meets the qualifications set out by the board and is and has been a productive member of the Harford County Community. Smith’s Detection is one of five operating divisions of Smiths Group plc, a global technology company. They are the world’s leading provider of advanced technologies to identify constantly evolving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. They are the global leader in the provision of threat detection and screening technologies for the military, transportation, homeland security and resilience applications such as; contraband detection, forensic work, meteorological measuring and video network monitoring. They currently employ 222 people and will be adding a projected 103 new employees. Due in part to this grant and other State incentives they will be expanding their operations from 145,00 square feet to 245,000 square feet. They are investing over $1.5 million dollars in their expansion efforts in Harford County. Smiths did not indicate they would reduce their operations in Edgewood but, were looking at relocating these new units to a new location. Since this is the manufacturing portion of the company, they could locate anywhere in the world. It is and was very important to obtain as much of their work in one place and have them consolidate in the Edgewood location. Smith’s did look at numerous sites before making their final decision to invest in Harford County.
Smith’s Detection today employs over 23,000 people in more than 50 countries throughout its five divisions – John Crane, Smiths Medical, Smiths Detection, Smiths Interconnect and Flex-Tek. However, Edgewood Maryland is its US Headquarters. They work with local military, first responders, transportation authorities, and customs officials to protect our critical national infrastructure throughout the world.
The WFTTG program has assisted 15 Harford County Companies, and trained 276 Harford County employees. Smith’s Detection in partnering with WFTTG will, over the next three years, train an additional 100 employees or more. Bring in 103 new jobs. Pay more in property and income tax as a company. Provide additional capital to the surrounding businesses including restaurants and gas stations. Reduce the unoccupied home rates and increase Harford County’s revenue enabling Harford County to invest in other projects like, schools, roads, community centers, and libraries. This vote for me was a vote to invest in Harford County, a vote to invest in Harford County employees and to invest in improving and moving our amazing County forward.
Sincerely,
Councilman Dion F. Guthrie
District A
18 Office St.
Bel Air Md. 21014
410-638-3343
dfguthrie@harfordcountymd.gov
Hmmmm. Grammatically correct? All words spelled correctly? Yeah. Guthrie definitely DID NOT write this. Looks like someone is getting a jump on his re-election bid.
You are correct, Dion does not write this well. Obviously the handwork of his new young and attractive assistant.
My Aid is no longer with me, she is now assistance States Attorney. I have an opening if you are interested
it’s assistant states attorney. Assistance is something you give to a company in the amount of 100,000 AND THEY DON’T NEED IT.
All of that is very nice BUT….The bottom line is , You voted to give $850,000 of the people’s money to a foreign company that made over $600 million in profit in 2011 and then you accused those that spoke out against the handout of being “against the war fighters”. Outrageous!
See the video here:
If you listen to half of this you tube link you can clearly see them defending their own votes; they really weren’t interested in gathering information at all…the only key question was asked by Joe Woods – basically he asked “so you’ve spent all this money at the current location would you actually move over this 100K”. The answer was “no” and it should have ended right there. We as concerned citizens should listen to this; it’s damning on it’s face. Who are these people on our council?
Yeah…100,000 from hard earned citizens of Harford County and doesn’t need to be paid back. You sure don’t have my vote. What were you thinking? A compnay that made 661 million and you and Jim decided to slip something in and give them the money.
This is not service, this is what Dictators do. They tell you what is good for you because they know better.
The big question is how much more money will the residents of Harford County have to fork over to keep Smith’s “happy”.
Who is up for some slush fund money next? Walmart, Kohl’s, Chick Fil A…
This doesn’t sound right. I don’t understand how this makes sense to give away so much money when we aren’t funding teachers fully. I don’t understand how it makes sense to give $850,000 to a huge, London-based company.
There must be a lot of lobbying behind the scenes on this one.
It’s an accepted practice to put up seed capital in partnerships with corporations that are either locating or located in one’s area for increased development. They could go somewhere else along with the jobs and revenue that they’ll bring.
All the airports need scanners. That’s for sure. It’s international business generating revenues from products sold to customers outside Harford County. You got an airport? You won’t get rich doing each other’s laundry.
Wow, I don’t even know where to start, except to ask why did the County Council just raise their budget over $200k a year to hire each member a legislative aide? If Guthrie’s aide wrote this, he or she should be fired just for breaking every grammatical law known. If Guthrie wrote this, well… Maybe the aide should just take over.
The County Council DOES have a choice in who receives grant money – it’s called a vote. If Maryland needs to bribe every company we have to keep them, we’ve completely missed the concept of being a business friendly state, and it’s time for any politician contributing to a crony capitalism state to GO.
We have two conflicting sets of numbers for the WTF training program, but it’s little matter – as far as I can tell, this waste of money can go too. How much money did it take to train those employees, Mr. Guthrie? I have to go back to college to re-train for a new career, can I get an application for WTF?
Chris,
You said “If Maryland needs to bribe every company we have to keep them, we’ve completely missed the concept of being a business friendly state, and it’s time for any politician contributing to a crony capitalism state to GO.”
That is exactly where Maryland is. Exactly. Not only business UNFRIENDLY but yesterday AARP named it in the 7 worst states in which to retire.
Doesn’t Sound Right, Smiths Detection spent $300,000 in lobbying money last year.
And apparently by way of a taxpayer funded 100K rebate you helped pay for it. I don’t care how high falootin’ the language used in defense of this – it doesn’t pass the smell test.
Smith’s has grown fat on the backs of the American taxpayer. See below
List of Stimulus contracts, grants and loans in Harford County, Md. Data last updated on February 2012.
http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/locale/maryland/harford
$44,824,49910
Total Funds Awarded Awards
http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/Pages/Recipient.aspx?duns=031001832
Very, very enlightening. Thanks for the links.
It is interesting that we have two “thumbs down” for posting links to facts regarding the amount of taxpayer Money Smith’s has received…
I see those alot; sometimes and mostly amusing…take it for what it is particularly when all you do is post a factual link – it’s people putting their fingers in thier ears and chanting lah, lah, lah as loud as they can. Probably emotionally akin to a 5 year old.
and why hasn’t “Capt” Jim responded? What is he afraid of? He seems to like giving money to companies that don’t need it, BUT he wanted this done on the down low. This is what politicians do when they don’t care about getting the taxpayer a break. JOE WOODS is the man. He stood up to this and showed that he truly cares for the people of harford county. This “Capt” Jim needs to explain and tell the truth. BTW where do I get an application for a loan that doesn’t have to be paid back.
Voter,
The way to get the the loan is first to start your own company. Then you make it successful and employ a bunch of people. If you get that far, and most don’t, then you offer to relocate it to Maryland and bring along your employees who will then buy homes and pay local taxes and be consumers who will stimulate the local economy.
Then people will line up to make your loan. Simple really.
It’s become a corrupt practice by which these companies demand ransom to either stay or move to your location. This practice has got to stop because it only accelerates corruption. If you have a decent community that should be lure enough and certainly not result in a bidding war with some other community.
Money Tree,
A decent community is only a very small part of it but it is certainly a part.
If only you would look at the State of Maryland from a business perspective you would see that it takes some real incentive for businesses to want to come to a state that is very unfriendly to them and also to their employees compared to many other states. High taxes, very high cost of living, comparatively high real estate market, and on and on. If we want to attract businesses to relocate to Maryland rather than other places that want them then we have to give them a significant reason because we have precious little going for us otherwise.
On the other hand, we can just let the chips fall wherever and live with the consequences. But there are consequences.
We may have precious little else going for us because the state is not business friendly but to think the taxpayers of Harford County have to make up the difference for a hostile Annapolis is ridiculous. Why not put the pressure where it belongs rather than take the easy route and just write checks in hopes the voters will never find out just how corrupt it’s become.
OK Alex…did you get a loan from Jim and Dion seconded it? Fess up…LOL
Guthrie– this isn’t what you said in the meeting: You said it was in support of the “warfighter.”
We all have a right to our own opinions, but we each surely do not have a right to her own facts.
-p
Mr. Guthrie, would you have voted for this deal if it was YOUR personal money to be INVESTED? I seriously doubt it. I suppose the only way to get any company to relocate or to stay here is to bribe them. Annapolis (sometimes known as Moscow on the Bay)has made Maryland one of the most business unfriendly states in the USA. Just ask PA, DE or VA. You have lost my vote for sure.
I would have. If a one-time $100,000 investment makes me $150,000 in additional revenue each year as this will for the county taxpayers, I would do it in a second. (In the case of the county, the revenue is of course additional property and income tax revenue.) This “deal” or whatever you want to call it is a net gain to the taxpayers of Harford County.
I get that a lot of C4L people may be opposed philosophically, and that is fine. But just recognize that if your views were put into practice in Harford County, we can say goodbye to relatively low unemployment and our AAA bond rating, and hello to decreased services and higher taxes. (Yes, you will have to raise taxes just to meet Maintenance of Effort and other state mandates. You will not have a choice.)
I frankly don’t care whether the company is a multi-trillion dollar corporation or a mom-and-pop operation. If that $100,000 was the difference between them expanding here or moving somewhere else, I’d do it in a second.
Logic, economics and mathematics trumps knee jerk reactions every time.
Never posted before I see. Interesting…
I do not believe that was the choice the council was faced with and your numbers (as well as theirs) are simply guesses. I don’t think you would say Government does a better job at investing than private industry but that is precisely what you are supporting.
The fundamental problem with your argument is that it fails to take into account the source of the $100,000.00. It came from the taxpayers of Harford County. Why would you expect that the members of the county council would be able to invest that money better than the people who earned it? (Have you seen the video, not an impressive bunch. Investing is best done by the person that earned the money to begin with not the thugs who stole it from them. Government is by nature force and it appears it is growing at an astonishing rate which means less freedom for the populace.
Money Tree,
How is that ‘putting the pressure on Annapolis where it belongs’ working out. And I don’t consider offering incentives to business to relocate to Maryland corruption in the strict sense of the word. One is legal – even though you wish it were not – and the other is illegal. I also long for a perfect state where O’Malley and the Dem/Lib mob are a distant memory. I’m not seeing it happen anytime soon but I’m doing what I can to hasten the day. Meanwhile, being the pragmatist that I am, I will try to do everything I can to neutralize their impact.
Sometimes doing the right thing ought to trump doing the expedient thing. The very reason our culture is sliding further into immorality is somebody thinks thier benefit trumps bending the basic rules of decency. It’s not OK to resort to bribery.
Alex..you have some good ideas, but this doesn’t pass the smell test. Why would a company, that made 661 million, need a loan that isn’t going to get paid back. I think this guy named “Capt” Jim thought we wouldn’t raise a stink about this and he could go on being the good ole guy and say, Awwww shucks. We need to be business friendly, but not at the expense of giving money to a company and wrapping ourselves in the American Flag. This county is going to have a debt coming due and it’s called the teacher’s pension. Just how in the heck are we going to take care of all the other county employees if we keep giving loans out like this. I think the council made a big mistake in this and now they think that people are going to forget about it. AWWWWWW darn
Alex, and others, I agree with you. Some have forgotten how few employers we have in Harford County. Remove the governments and we are even worse. Everyone who comes from Baltimore County complains about our taxes in Harford County. They claim to get so much more in Baltimore County for less. Baltimore County property taxes have been less because they have so many employers there who pay a lot of tax. As a traditional farm county, we have only been in the attract industry game for a relatively short time. I agree with Guthrie and others who stated that this was an investment in Harford County. Now, if you don’t care about the young people, then don’t spend a dime on anything. Why do so many Harford Countians have to commute to work?
All I care about right now is to know what he is doing to save us from another Wal-Mart.
is there money to be given away? SURE Walmart can come in!
He’s not doing anything to save us from Walmart because Walmart is coming and there is nothing he can do. Walmart is coming because we citizens of Harford County allowed the parcel in question to be zoned so that they can come to specifically that site. Friends of Harford agrees that they are coming to that site. See their article elsewhere on the Dagger. In the paraphrased words of some comic strip character which I cannot remember “We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.”
It does behoove us to be more involved – you’re absolutely correct and in this instance there couldn’t be a more obvious example of why. That being said, somebody in government allowed a change in zoning…more questions should have been asked. To go from residential zoning to a Super Walmart is a pretty severe outcome and I’d frankly like to know who exactly signed off on it and why? You can’t possibly think that the neighborhood would be happy about it, and the appropriateness is certainly in question. Why all these zoning changes after the fact – smells sort of like rotten fish to me.
I believe it was “Pogo”
Thanks. I believe you are right.
Mr. Guthrie,
You have my sympathy. You and your colleagues are taking all the heat for an initiative that was introduced at the request of the County Executive. While we’re taking you to the woodshed, Mr. Craig seems to be fading into the shadows. In fact, there is plenty of blame to go around. Let’s not forget the role of the state. If not for the Annapolis tax and spendaholics, the good folks in Harford County would be counting the days before the Farm Fair and the new school year.
So let’s hold everyone responsible for taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Just for the record, I’m opposed to the reverse as well. I thought business friendly meant,low taxes, a level playing field, and a favorable regulatory environment Silly me! It really means the Governor, the County Executive,and the County Council working hand in glove to pick winners and losers.
I need to ask myself “Why Smith’s?”. An organization with their bottom line doesn’t need $850,000 to entice them to stay put. The facility is here, the workers are here, the customer base is here, technical support is here, the ability to expand is here. If Smith’s decided to listen to the siren call of Virginia, they would pack up and leave faster than you can say “Baltimore Colts”. Giving back the “loan” would be an after thought.
One last thing. Does Mr. O’Malley know how you feel about Virginia? After today’s job numbers he’ll be especially cranky and may take offense at the comparison.
Martin O’Malley is very supportive of regional wins. He sort of has to be since that is all he can actually achieve.
I wouldn’t say that CE Craig and Governor O’Malley could work “hand in glove” to agree on anything. I don’t think they could agree on the time of day even if they were both reading from the same digital clock.
Really? They both agreed to give Smith’s my cash…
Craig isn’t hiding from this! He was on Twitter today bragging about how wonderful it is to give other people’s money away as an incentive.
twitter.com/DavidRCraig/status/227774082173788162
I think I should get a loan from the county and not have to pay it back. This is politics as usual and they know it. You know what, they will get away with it and do it again down the road.
Of course they will because they got caught and folks aren’t happy. Get ready for the usual crap – some of it we’ve already heard from the new people that suddenly started posting today. He’ll tell us we need to keep pace with others, the return on investment only makes sense…blah, blah, blah and in the meantime we’ve got a Walmart being dumped in the middle of a neighborhood where it’s not wanted, 69 houses on 17 acres in Fallston in a here-to-fore low density area and now hundreds of thousands of dollars handed out like so much confetti to a company that didn’t need it. When money gets thrown around like this it’s worth watching what the other hand is doing – people can be easily bought and paid for. If we only knew the level of corruption I’m sure we’d all be astonished and shocked.
Interesting statement issued by Craig… in one press release he managed to scold ‘so-called conservatives’ that disagree with him, plus the Governor and POTUS.
From the tone of the piece, one would almost think he’s running for something…
This whole BRAC mess creates such great cover for money deals and real estate giveaways. It’s so much easier to be locally corrupt than at the federal level because there’s nearly no way to oversee what goes on…heck we don’t even have a noisy press corp to watch the hen house.
I meant to say nosy…but noisy works just as well!!
We have The Aegis.
Sorry, I just had to get that in.
To EasyMoney, who wrote “I would have. If a one-time $100,000 investment makes me $150,000 in additional revenue each year as this will for the county taxpayers, I would do it in a second. (In the case of the county, the revenue is of course additional property and income tax revenue.) This “deal” or whatever you want to call it is a net gain to the taxpayers of Harford County.”
WRONG ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBERS. First of all, the auditor’s note you see online was the CORRECTED one, the first claimed $239,660 in net impact. But the auditor’s note does not show $150,000 in additional revenue each year – it is an estimated $154,745 over THREE YEARS – $47,415 year 1, $47,415 year 2, $59,915 year 3. Now, that’s assuming that 50% of the jobs go to residents of Harford County, or that 50% of the employees transferred from New Jersey settle in Harford County, as discussed in the note. Remembering what Alex R just shared with us, Maryland is not the best place in which to settle or retire. Who’s to say these people won’t come from Baltimore County, or move to DE and commute? There are entirely too many suppositions to claim an economic benefit at this point.
Philosophically, some may be against it, but when you look at cold numbers, this deal stinks. I’m a Harford County resident, and a Maryland resident – so I paid a portion of the $100,000 AND a portion of the $750,000 forgivable loan (this is not O’Malley’s money, it’s OUR money). On top of that, the company is based in Edgewood, and only has to pay 20% of it’s required taxes until the year 2016. They already have a ten year tax break for moving close to APG thanks to the Enterprise Zone.
Alex R, again you’re correct – mathematics and logic trumps emotion. Ask the Governor of Ohio how he pumped up business in his state – pure math. He simplified complex regulations, he simplified the tax code, he provided a better business environment across the board for businesses to move and expand in his state. If that’s a C4L philosophy, I’m all for it.
The great thing about locating in Edgewood is they get a cut rate on tax liability because they’re setting up shop in a poor area…only with an avg. wage of $72K you have to expect nearly nobody that lives in Edgewood works there, and if they do not for long. That’s a pretty short commute by comparison for folks in Belair or Fallston. This is a joke.
Chris,
You said “Ask the Governor of Ohio how he pumped up business in his state – pure math. He simplified complex regulations, he simplified the tax code, he provided a better business environment across the board for businesses to move and expand in his state. If that’s a C4L philosophy, I’m all for it.”
As governor of Maryland, what is O’Malley’s plan? Please be specific.
Let us watch for the campaign contributions Smith’s gives out during the next election cycle.
Campaign contributions are the least of my suspicions.
After having been in business for a number of years, I am rarely surprised by what passes as acceptable anymore. Likewise having seen politics up close I am not under any illusions about how government works. I do not have a philosophical difference with providing an incentive to any company that may be interested in doing business in Harford County. I would hope that those companies already in the county would be first to get those incentives, not those large defense contractors that will be moving in as a result of BRAC. Those companies already in the County are the ones that pay local and state taxes that defense contractors may not have to.
I object strongly to providing defense contractors with incentives, generated by my tax dollars. Particularly when I consider that every year my taxes help pay their operating costs, their overhead, employee bonuses and profits which may then be distributed to investors who own stock. While the Harford County “investors” carry the tax burden. Not a concept that I would invest in voluntarily.
Ms. Ryder,
We hear you loud and clear and judging by your post you seem to be a person of high principle. May we all confidently then assume that you wouldn’t want to profit from any of these companies coming here because of incentives by selling homes to their employees?
Why the dig at Ms. Ryder? Last I checked she sells homes, doesn’t develop them and being she’s done pretty well I have to figure she works hard. She is allowed to comment – certainly having spent a bunch of time around developers and planners the fact that she sort of suggests it stinks; she if anybody ought to know. I respect that she’s willing to be honest about what goes on.
Money Tree,
When I “dig” it is never so subtle as that. My point simply is that while she criticizes the giving of incentives to companies to move here (as do I, and more on that later) she is one of the local companies that benefit quite directly from that move. Perhaps that is some of the “irony” that she has in mind when she uses the word “irony”, but probably not.
Allow me to explain that while I also greatly desire, as I assume do you, that Maryland didn’t have to work so hard to get businesses to want to come, in fact the anti-business climate of Maryland requires it. That is why I say that I am critical of the necessity while at the same time I also realize that there is a necessity if we want them to come.
Even the states that are business friendly incentify businesses to come. Maryland is not at all business friendly and the current administration has no intention of doing what it takes to become so. Unless, of course, you are the current flavor of the month which are at this moment casinos. Stand by for the special legislative session.
And isn’t it ironic (there goes that word again, Ms. Ryder) that Maryland couldn’t ever hope to get an auto manufacturing plant to come even though the list of companies that have built plants in the US include VW, Mercedes, BMW, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda just to name some of them.
Gadzooks, Money Tree, irony abounds!!!
County Executive Craig: “Maryland has a Significantly High Cost of Doing Business. There Must be Some Incentive for Company Executives to Give Us a Look”
http://www.daggerpress.com/2012/07/24/county-executive-craig-%e2%80%9cmaryland-has-a-significantly-high-cost-of-doing-business-there-must-be-some-incentive-for-company-executives-to-give-us-a-look/
I will voice my opinion on election day. The only council member worthy of a vote is Joe Woods. He actually looks after the county taxpayer money. I will cast my vote for anyone other than the ones presently in office. After watching the HCN video of the council hearing it was clear they had their minds made up beforehand. That prepared press release by Chad Shrodes made me sad that he represents my district, at least for now.
Alex R,
What is O’Malley’s plan to pump up business? Drive all business to Virginia with higher sales tax, higher personal income taxes, and higher corporate income taxes than our competitive neighbor. And then I suppose merge with Virginia? I don’t know what he’s thinking, maybe you can clue us in. Because when every single tax is higher in Maryland, bribery through grants and forgivable loans only goes so far.
Chris,
Once again you are missing the point.
Repeat after me, Chris, “Regional Wins, Regional Wins, Regional Wins, Regional Wins”. It’s not that hard, really. Just keep saying it over and over and eventually you will get it. Unfortunately by then it will be Senator O’Malley.
ALEX R
Your proposition reveals a silliness and failure to fully grasp the irony of this situation.
First Smiths: it is fairly easy to state that Smiths is moving here because their principal customer is here, and becasue of the proximity to Washington DC. They well understand that if they want to continue doing business with their customers, and expand, Harford County offers them the ideal location.
Secon: Harford County’s taxpayers contribute to Smith’s Detection business annually. Smiths use that money to operate, pay bonuses, make a profit and benefit their share holders and even to move to Harford County. Why should my tax dollars now give them an incentive to move here? Would you pay twice for the same item. If so, please let all of the merchants in the county know who you are so that they may sell you the same item twice.
Joan,
Could I add a 3rd irony? The State of Maryland is always looking for companies to relocate here but the state is so business unfriendly that they are seldom successful. And when they are successful, it is for a comparativey little thing like Smith’s yet they they celebrate as if it were a really big deal?
Doesn’t the severe anti-business climate in Maryland frustrate you or are you okay with these clowns in Annapolis? I know BRAC helped the real estate business some. Maybe not what was originally thought but more than if there hadn’t been a BRAC.
Maybe another irony is that one of our big ‘wins’ is BRAC which was the Feds telling people ‘you will relocate to Maryland’ and yet that wasn’t as successful as everyone thought. Even they weren’t at all thrilled with the prospect of coming to the land of pleasant living.
And now we learn that, according to AARP, Maryland is also in the WORST 7 states in the whole country in which to retire. And on the same day we learn that the City of Baltimore is encouraging people to relocate from Mexico. But let’s not go in to that on this post.
Speak of irony. As I told Money Tree, irony abounds!! What doesn’t abound is either individuals or companies wanting to come here unless they are either enticed with money or coerced.
ALEX R
Your proposition reveals a silliness and failure to fully grasp the irony of this situation.
First Smiths: it is fairly easy to state that Smiths is moving here because their principal customer is here, and becasue of the proximity to Washington DC. They well understand that if they want to continue doing business with their customers, and expand, Harford County offers them the ideal location.
Second: Harford County’s taxpayers contribute to Smith’s Detection business annually. Smiths use that money to operate, pay bonuses, make a profit and benefit their share holders and even to move to Harford County. Why should my tax dollars now give them an incentive to move here? Would you pay twice for the same item. If so, please let all of the merchants in the county know who you are so that they may sell you the same item twice.
You said that. Twice.
Alex,
You are right about the frustration with the unfriendly state of Maryland. Unfortunately, until we get people in Annapolis that can fight for us, that will never change. Yes, BRAC was a disappointment. One thing it did do was raise the rental market. These people paid top dollar for rentals instead of purchasing. Anyone with rental property saw a significant rise in their rentals. BRAC did not help my business as much as everyone was talking about. We had sales in Cecil County, PA and very few in Maryland. The government housing that was suppose to be torn down was renovated and five to six people are renting each house so they do not have to move here. If you go on the APG you will see nothing but computers with New Jersey tags. The ten hour work day provides them the opportunity to get three days off each week and computing is what they do. My personal feeling is that until we get elected officials that do not have their own private agenda, we will not solve the problem. Everyone that is elected is looking towards another election. I hope I see that change; however, I don’t think so.
AlexR
To add to Ms Ryder’s comment. Financing for onpost housing project was arranged by Harford County. How is that for irony. Harford County arranges financing to allow civilians to live on post. No revenue increase for Harford County or rental property owners on that deal.
Okay, John and Joan, I give up.
If you don’t want any businesses to come here and their employees to live here and pay taxes here and be part of the local consuming economy then let’s all just be satisfied with the current government climate and the status quo and let’s tell all of the companies that might relocate here to go to . . . . .somewhere else.
At least Maryland and Martin can continue to claim regional wins. Personally, regional ‘wins’ to me are losses and are only claimed by losers.
And all of this over a measly $100K investment that pays us back in the blink of an eye?
AlexR
Sir/Ma’am
Were it so that I had the power to stop all growth in Harford County. Fact is Harford County will grow whether its residents like it or not. Simple fact is that as the Atalntic coast grows so will Harford County. APG may seem like a magnet today, the reality is that the golden ribbon of I-95, proximity to New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and beyond will lure more people and business with greater diversity than you can imagine. Before long Harford County will look just like Los Angeles County, CA. Hopefully we will be smart enough to position ourselves to handle the expansion without giving it away for a measly $100K, or chicken feed as one council member might call it.
Joan, “…until we get elected officials that do not have their own private agenda, we will not solve the problem.” So you are stating that the current crop of elected officials in Harford County need to go? I agree these people are the tools of developers and we need representatives that work for the general public. Good call.
And the current crop in Annapolis?
Proud; What exactly is wrong with developers? Someone has to make room for all the immigrants flocking into Maryland.
Absolutely and I will make certain that they are Democrats. Isn’t that what you’re really afraid of?
“Afraid of”? What the hell are you smoking? I’m not afraid of much of anything with the exception of anyone stupid enough to vote a party line. Our great nation has had any number of waves of immigrants who within one generation figured out how to assimilate and become well educated. Now, we find ourselves in the deplorable situation of having citizens asking if we are afraid.
“Our great nation has had any number of waves of immigrants who within one generation figured out how to assimilate and become well educated.” So you will welcome all immigrants to Harford County and support the Dream Act so that they may “become well educated”?
I welcome all legal immigrants and wish them success along with a great education should they wish to achieve one. I do not support any illegal activity.
No need to put any words into my mouth. No, I do not support the Dream Act. Any act which encourages the breaking of the law is by its very nature a bad move. I do welcome, with open arms, and and all legal immigrants, wherever they may come from. I will not condone or accept anyone who takes a shortcut at the expense. If two people go into a bank to make a withdrawal and one of them takes money form his or her saving account and the other just uses gun and takes it form yours, are they both deserving of equal treatment?
PTBL, anyone who supports illegal aliens is supporting the breaking of law. It also is affront to every immigrant who comes here legally and follows the required procedures. Legal immigranta are welcome. What part of legal and illegal do you not understand?
We don’t live in Harford County any longer, but please tell me that the comment Guthrie supposedly made, “My AID doesn’t live….ASSISTANCE State’s Attorney…No one THAT STUPID could actually be in office could they? Say it ain’t so Stanley.