County Reassesses Economic Development

A consulting agency has made recommendations to make Dorchester County more hospitable to existing and incoming businesses.

Sanford Holshouser Consulting, the leading economic development consulting firm in the Southeast, was selected to develop Dorchester County’s first Strategic Plan to help guide the Ccunty's Economic Development efforts over the next five years. The study took six months to complete. On behalf of Sanford Holshouser, managing partner Crystal Morphis gave a brief presentation Thursday evening of this intensive analysis that included a review of product development, economic and demographic trends, as well as a target industry update that was developed in conjunction with Applied Marketing.

Click here to see entire presentation.

According to the presentation, the county has done a lot of things right so far — you don't bring in nearly $520 million in investments during an economic recession if you're not doing something right, Morphis said.

But there are many weaknesses and gaps in the current industry-focused expansion and attraction plan, she added. The county's infrastructure, labor-force skills, out-commuting workforce, limited commercial tax base and lack of office buildings were identified as weaknesses. Gaps were listed in retail recruitment and development — which is often passed over for industrial recruitment and development — lack of a small business and entrepreneurship task force and a small business incubator. 

According to Dorchester County Economic Development Director Jon Baggett, the agency will first explore using the $2 million in funds gathered from fee-in-lieu of taxes for infrastructure improvements and explore forming the task force.

"It's really not a change in focus but it's making a well-rounded focus," Baggett said. "We're going to work it in immediately." 

The economic development will begin developing new marketing materials, he added. Infrastructure improvements will be made in the next few months, he said. 

"We've got to start looking at the bigger picture for the county," Baggett said. 

He said focusing on keeping the 60 percent of workers who leave the county is a great future resource for entrepreneurship. 

"They are the people who would be the entrepreneurs," Baggett said. 

The consulting group also identified opportunities for more growth in the aerospace cluster, sites available, business-education partnerships, the intersection of Interstates 26 and 95, and workforce partnerships. 

Threats to economic development include congestion, reduction in county funding to economic development, sewer capacity, air quality, K-12 education funding, state-funded roads, surrounding counties with large tracts of land owned by national and international private entities, and the county not controlling water production.