County economic-development staff says incentives have returned about $10.88 per $1; school CFO outlines $28M annual receipts

Charleston County Economic Development staff gave a detailed briefing to the finance committee on the department's funding, the county's use of incentives and the financial impact on taxing entities.

Presenter Mister Johnson told the committee that Charleston County Economic Development (CCED) operates as an enterprise fund and is primarily supported by revenues collected from taxing entities that receive incentives. He said the department tracks multiple revenue streams and that some incentive-related details are subject to legal confidentiality until deals are finalized.

Daniel Prentice, identified in the meeting as the school district's chief financial officer, told the committee that the Charleston County School District receives roughly $28,000,000 a year from incentive-related arrangements, about $17,000,000 of which Prentice said is fee-in-lieu revenue. Prentice said the district receives information from the county "in compliance with" accounting pronouncements used in audits, and that the district factors those revenues into multi-year budget projections.

Johnson framed incentives as competitive and performance-based, saying state law allows such incentives and that grants approved by the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development are passed through by the county. On how the county measures value, he said an updated economic-impact study shows the county has returned about $10.88 for every $1 of MCIP (multi-county industrial park) incentives the county provided. "For every dollar that this county has given through the MCIP to our department, we've returned $10.88," Johnson said.

The presentation included a short video from Allegiance Flag Supply describing local hiring and the company’s use of county help. A representative in the video said, "We started this business in Charleston and we're not going anywhere."

Committee members asked how incentives help retain existing firms and how small businesses or restaurants benefit. Johnson said some incentives prevent companies from relocating and cited partnerships (for example, with Lowcountry Local First and tourism organizations) and below-market space programs to support small-business starts. Members also discussed statutory limits on setting assessment ratios for businesses; an attendee noted assessment ratios are set by state statute and that special lower homeowner rates are not available for businesses.

The committee did not take any formal action on incentive policy at this meeting; members continued the earlier debate over whether a public-facing incentives spreadsheet should be added to routine materials.