Tabernik said she “questioned some expenditures in the past and when something comes up and I don’t see a positive (return on investment) for the county, I delve deeper and vote accordingly.”
Going forward, she would like to see more representation on the BCEDC board by the county — perhaps two or even three additional seats, saying that he county provides the overwhelming majority of the operating funding and all funding for the job and site fund. Tabernik opposes an increase in the number of board seats.
At the request of the organization’s board, County Council has agreed to take a look at its future, including its mission, funding sources and acceptable expenditures, Tabernik said.
“I believe John worked hard for the county and did what he believed economic development was to be,” she said. “I’m looking forward to our future discussions about the BCEDC to see what the path should be.”
In the meantime, other municipalities have already pulled back from what it contributes to the BCEDC.
Last year, Port Royal, pulled its contributions. Along with the city of Beaufort and towns of Hilton and Bluffton, the town had contributed about $40,000 to $45,000 annually.
“We had some different thoughts on what economic development meant to Port Royal,” said the Town Manager Van Willis, who also serves on the BCEDC board.
Economic development groups liked BCEDC tend to focus on large-scale, commercial developments, he said. Since the town doesn’t have a sizable commercial tax base, town leaders there didn’t want to have an over reliance on those sorts of projects coming in, though he said, they’d be happy to have them.
“We just felt like we needed to focus more hyper-locally,” he said.
Despite the town’s decision, O’Toole continued to assist the town, helping secure a grant to fund a retail study.
“That was a good experience for us,” he said.
While it is true that the county and the area’s municipalities have put in roughly $12 million over the past decade, O’Toole said the group’s current net assets equal $6 million, including cash and real estate.