Management and Performance Review of County Government ...

Economic Development Incentives Policy
and the manner in which the annual level of spending that generates the economic
impacts is estimated. Often a proposed project has both types of direct effects (e.g., a
new hotel has a construction phase as well as an operations phase). In such cases, the
economic activity that makes up the two types of direct impacts must be separated.
Impacts of Projects and Special Events
Typically only the total spending or person-years of effort for the full duration of
projects and special events is well known. Therefore, in order to provide a sense of the
phase-in process of any project, annual spending estimates over the life of the project
are made as proportions of the total. Examples are the construction of a new hotel or
spending generated by having an existing local facility serve as the venue for a soccer
tournament. In both cases, the economic activities involved are likely to be measured in
total dollars spent or in terms of the total number of jobs that will be “created.” Further,
the term of the economic activity associated with projects and events typically is a period
shorter than five years. (Equipment purchases also fall into this category of “one-time
economic impacts” through the spending for equipment. Generally, equipment
purchases are not made in the region, so the economic impacts generated directly from
such spending tend to be small.)
Recurring Impacts
Unlike spending on special events or construction and equipment purchases, the
annual operation and maintenance expenditures of new and/or expanded facilities
generate an on-going stream of economic impacts. Such economic impacts are typically
referred to as recurring impacts. The regional economic impacts of operations and
maintenance expenditures are based on spending or employment levels for a typical
year. Generally, however, the establishment or program for which the impacts are
measured, tends to endure for a much longer period. Hence, the recurring economic
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