|
Commerce
secretary: Agency is restructuring
May
23, 2003
By WALLACE
MCBRIDE
Index-Journal
senior staff writer
 |
| S.C. Secretary of Commerce
Bob Faith addresses regional economic development and
government officials Thursday during a visit to Piedmont
Tech. | State Secretary of
Commerce Bob Faith was in Greenwood Thursday for the second of
six regional “open door” meetings to address local officials
about upcoming department changes.
“This is going to be a
different Department of Commerce,” Faith told representatives
from Greenwood, Abbeville, Edgefield, Aiken and McCormick
counties.
Officials gathered at Piedmont Tech for an
all-day seminar, which also included private consultations
with Faith.
“We’re really trying to change the culture at
the Department of Commerce, to be kinder and gentler,” he
said. “It doesn’t mean everyone will get what they want, but
when we say, ‘No,’ it will be with a smile on our
face.”
Part of this change, he said, will include
restructuring of the commerce department.
Budget cuts are
forcing the department to do more with less in the coming
year, but Faith said the reductions should not conflict with
the desired change in department focus.
“Budget cuts will
require more generalists, and less specialists,” he said, “and
people who can multi-task. There are going to be a lot of
changes at the Department of Commerce, but we have to stay
true to our mission statement.”
Faith went into detail
about the broad goals of the department, which include
improving the quality of life and increasing wealth in the
state, and creating a long-term focus for state goals.
South Carolina is behind the curve in the number of
venture capital investments made annually, he said, partly
because state officials have concentrated on short-term goals
for too long.
“We need to be looking for new ways to
compete in the global economy,” Faith told the group.
He
cited a Marlboro County popcorn company as an example, a
business that uses materials created in such varying
environments as Charlotte, N.C., and Russia.
The final
product, made in Bennettsville, is then shipped
internationally, Faith said.
A restructuring plan for the
state Department of Commerce has already been approved.
Retirement and voluntary separation initiatives are being
used to reduce staff and the final department structure is
expected to be operational in early July.
Wallace
McBride covers Greenwood and general assignments in the
Lakelands. He can be reached at 223-1811, ext. 3308, or:
wmcbride@indexjournal.com
| |
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
