South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, right, is greeted by Aiken County Council member Chuck Smith Tuesday February 3, 2004 at the North Augusta Community Center during the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet. Chris Thelen/Staff

Sanford recognizes city's work

North Augusta business, residents praised

NORTH AUGUSTA - Focusing on supporting small businesses will help South Carolina fight its tight budget crunch, Gov. Mark Sanford said at the Greater North Augusta Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet Tuesday night.

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The governor, in town as the keynote speaker for the event, helped honor many individuals and businesses for their help in the community. This was the governor's fourth trip to North Augusta since he was elected governor, North Augusta Mayor Lark Jones said.

Mr. Sanford spoke to about 400 people at the event, including local business owners, state representatives and residents, stressing the need for better government structure and more economic clusters throughout the region.

"We spread a lot of marbles, but we are not focused," he said. "Everything begins and ends with businesses, and if they don't do well, the budget won't do well."

In his business-oriented speech, Mr. Sanford recognized the hard work of employees at the Savannah River Site and the work of local representatives.

"It is important to recognize these folks tonight because they help create wealth and the government can help distribute it," he said.

However, Mr. Sanford said even more notable is work of small local businesses.

"Because 97 percent of businesses are small businesses in the state, they are very important. We have to create a more competitive playing field," he said.

Mr. Jones said the city should be a model for others and said he was excited Mr. Sanford came.

"I've never known a governor who paid so much attention to our city in such a short period of time," Mr. Lark said.

"Even during hard economic times, we feel like we are on the right track and we're proud Mr. Sanford has come to share his thoughts."

Mr. Sanford said that lowering the income tax rate from 7 percent to 5.9 percent, as proposed in his budget, should help South Carolina businesses better compete with others across state lines.

"Lowering the income tax should create better competition, but it is a day-to-day process," he said. "When you have 44,000 fewer workers today than we did before, you realize the importance of the businesses and citizens here tonight."

Reach Peter G. Gilchrist at (803) 648-1395.

or peter.gilchrist@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Wednesday, February 4, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle