Dell's revised land deal with Winston-Salem is the subject of a Register article with the headline, "Dell Sucks Another $7 Million Out of North Carolina." Here's a couple of excerpts:
Originally, Forsyth County and Winston-Salem officials had agreed to front the cost of the 200-acre site housing Dell's new plant. But lawyers negotiating the deal grew concerned that, among other things, the arrangement made it possible for Dell to sell and profit from land the city bought. Hence the new deal in which Dell kind of, sort of pays for the land but doesn't really. The Winston-Salem City Council approved the change this week and is in the process of signing new contracts, The Register has learned.
"Now, Dell pays us directly for the land," said Derwick Paige, assistant city manager of Winston-Salem confirmed in an interview with us. "However, of the $7m that they pay us, we will put all the money in a general fund and take $1.5m to put toward infrastructure improvements and the other $5.5m we'll give to them over a two year period in the form of grants."
With the extra $7m, Dell's total North Carolina incentives package now comes to $284m. That's $244m more than Virginia, the second leading bidder for Dell's factory, was reportedly willing to offer.
Dell's package includes the land money, tax breaks, police protection, special Dell training classes at local colleges, new roads and a host of other fixes. In return, Dell could deliver as many as 1,600 jobs to the city, although it can fire close to half that amount and maintain the package perks. Locals have complained that the company has received unfair advantages that will harm smaller businesses. The net benefit for employment in the city is far from clear.
Ouch.
Still, I have to say that even with all these incentives I'm still glad that Forsyth County won Dell. Sure we probably overpaid, but the long-term economic affect is more than likely going to be very good. Stay tuned.
Cross posted at JonLowder.com.
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