Sanford: Job creation plan working

JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press

COLUMBIA -- In the 2002 governor's race, then-candidate Mark Sanford decried South Carolina's efforts to lure a DaimlerChrysler plant, calling them inadequate and shortsighted.

Sanford, now governor, won a scaled-back DaimlerChrysler plant this week and says it shows a different approach to job creation is working in the state. "It's all about making our ground in South Carolina more fertile to businesses that are small and medium size" while finding bigger, larger projects that fit what the state can offer, Sanford said.

In 2002, the state pulled out all the stops to attract the DaimlerChrysler van plant that's now headed to Ladson. It's a much different project with far different expectations.

At the time, South Carolina and Georgia were fighting for a $750 million plant and its 3,300 jobs. South Carolina offered $346 million in incentives. While it was richer than the $320 million Georgia offered, South Carolina lost the deal when it balked at buying the land for the manufacturer without a firm commitment to the project.

It left Sanford saying then-Gov. Jim Hodges and the Commerce Department "were left at the table."

Sanford said that until "we stop relying solely on incentives and start improving our underlying business climate, were going to continue to miss out -- not only on these big opportunities but also on the opportunity to create and grow small businesses in South Carolina."

A year later, DaimlerChrysler ditched the Georgia plant plan, setting the stage for South Carolina's courtship to resume -- but under different rules and standards.

The plant will be a scaled-down version of a 3,300-worker Sprinter van plant that DaimlerChrysler announced three years ago. At that time, the automaker picked a site in Pooler, Ga., but never built the facility.

DaimlerChrysler will use an existing 460,000-square-foot plant for its operation and put up $35 million into launching a project that initially would hire 220 people. If the company reaches sales targets, the investment can grow to as much as $400 million with a payroll of 1,800.

Sanford says that deal and other big projects since he has taken office have been done under rules requiring the Commerce Department to disclose details of deals it makes and loses. At the same time, the agency no longer is reporting rosy estimates of how many jobs may come or how much money a company may eventually invest, Sanford said.

"Previously, there was only one bias and that is to throw as much money as possible to grab the potted plant and stick it in the soil in South Carolina. Whether it was ultimately a good deal for the taxpayer, nobody would know," Sanford said.

The state needed to "create a balanced system," Sanford said, and realize that "potted plants" were "not the only development strategy."

Sanford says legislation passed during the past year to lower small- business income tax rates and reduce lawsuit costs will help all businesses.

Frank Knapp, chief executive of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, says Sanford and his Commerce Department have quite a way to go.

"I don't believe that our Department of Commerce has yet developed an economic development plan for small business," Knapp said. The Legislature passed small business income tax breaks and made it easier for small businesses to get job creation tax credits, he noted. But that's not the same thing as having a strategy, he said.

Knapp says Sanford has never met with his group. But Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer says Knapp has never made a formal request for a meeting.