Board may stay mum on business incentives

The Utah Board of Business and Economic Development has faced many changes recently, including widespread alterations to its membership. On Friday, it was revealed that it will change its approach to meetings and perhaps not reveal the dollar amounts of company incentives from the state's Industrial Assistance Fund.

The IAF typically has been used to help companies that expand in or relocate operations to Utah as an incentive for the companies to create high-paying jobs. On a few occasions, the board has kept the name of a company confidential, at the company's request.

The board's IAF committee meetings have been held behind closed doors, but board actions, including a revelation of the amounts awarded, have been public.

On Friday, Martin Frey, co-director of the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development, said the IAF committee has said it would be good to keep the dollar amount secret.

After the Friday board meeting, Frey said it's a matter of keeping the state competitive when it is battling to land company operations.

"The next company comes along and says, 'Oh, you gave so much per job, and we want more.' Or they just start the negotiations at that point. Obviously, we want to be good stewards of the state dollars and not set the bar at the highest point," he said.

Frey said he is unsure if other states keep incentive amounts from public view.

"I do know it's a competitive game, including with other states. We're fighting with Colorado now for getting companies here versus there, and if I knew exactly what they were offering, I would just match it. It's closed bid, is what you're doing. That's part of the whole challenge," he said.

Conversely, if another state knows Utah's offer, it can approve a slightly higher amount, he said.

Board member Clifford White said after the meeting he was unsure if the new approach is best. "I'm not sure what the answer is. I need to get more input," White said.

Frey said the board "needs to find the right balance between accountability and losing our competitiveness by announcing all the inform- ation."

Board chairman David Simmons also announced that the board will meet in-person every other month rather than monthly, although it will conduct meetings via telephone conference call during months when not meeting in person. Frey said it is a way to better accommodate members' schedules — many travel to Salt Lake from far reaches of the state.