County will eye incentive for AT&T
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on December 17, 2007 1:46 PM
With AT&T announcing last week the opening of a broadband technical support call center in the old Winn-Dixie Supermarket on U.S. 117, and the creation of 350 new jobs by the end of the year, the Wayne County Board of Commissioners will spend part of its meeting Tuesday setting a public hearing to consider a $100,000 incentive grant for the company.
The city of Goldsboro also is expected to discuss a $100,000 incentive grant at a future meeting.
The Wayne County Develop-ment Alliance has already voted to approve a $100,000 incentive grant of its own.
If the county's and the city's are approved, all three will be contingent upon job creation.
"That was part of the negotiations (to bring the company to Goldsboro)," said alliance President Joanna Thompson.
AT&T also is receiving a $300,000 grant from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center.
The funds will help offset the building renovations.
The commissioners also will be hearing the results of the Wayne County Public Library patron survey.
The survey's focus was on the importance and quality of specific materials, services and programs, the ways those resources and services can be improved, the frequency of library usage and what barriers exist to greater usage.
A total of 748 surveys were completed by patrons at the main branch in Goldsboro, as well as those in Pikeville, Fremont, Seven Springs and the Steele Memorial branch.
Also expected to be discussed Tuesday are the possibility of putting a quarter-cent local sales tax referendum on the May primary ballot, and the recently announced $23 million school facility construction proposal, which school officials are hopeful can be taken up at a special-called county Board of Education meeting before the end of the year.