FORT PIERCE — Faced with double-digit unemployment and one of the highest rates of foreclosures in the country, St. Lucie County commissioners are crafting a “mini-stimulus” to inject some much-needed cash into the local economy.

The idea, they say, is to create local jobs using locally available money.

Up for discussion are two separate but related options. The first is to declare a state of emergency, allowing money to be freed and construction projects to be sped through the system. The second is a “local preference” ordinance that would favor local businesses in the bidding process.

A public workshop about the ordinance is scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday at the Havert L. Fenn Center, while commissioners will hold an informal meeting about the stimulus plan, or state of emergency, at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the county’s administrative offices.

The two options, though still in the planning stages, have garnered regional and national attention, prompting speculation that the county’s finances are in trouble or that St. Lucie is closing itself off from companies headquartered outside its borders. Neither is true, county officials say.

“People say, ‘Isn’t there a stigma to declaring a state of emergency?’ but quite honestly the entire country is in an economic crisis,” said Commissioner Doug Coward. “It is not a reflection on the budget, but the economy.”

County officials made deep cuts to the budget this year, slashing more than $100 million and cutting more than 200 jobs. The budget is balanced and about $17.5 million in reserves is intact.

“The county’s budget is in no way in danger,” said Faye Outlaw, the county’s administrator.

Declaring a state of emergency, while not affecting the budget, would allow the county to “fast-track” projects in the short-term by limiting the bidding process to regional companies, she said.

The “local preference” ordinance, however, would give local companies favor as part of a long-term policy. Whether that would be limited only to those companies headquartered in St. Lucie County or given to companies from the broader Treasure Coast area hasn’t been determined yet, she said.

Some in the business community have already objected to the ordinance, though, saying it would do more harm than good because the construction industry operates regionally.

Many companies maintain offices in multiple counties, while some are headquartered in West Palm Beach or Miami but may draw most of their employees from St. Lucie County, said Michelle Anaya DePotter, executive director of the Florida East Coast Chapter of Associated General Contractors of America.

“It seems extremely unfair,” she said.

Coward said such an ordinance is simply intended to keep local dollars at home.

“We do not want to be paying local dollars to a company that will be taking those dollars out of the region,” he said.

The primary goal is to complete projects that will not only provide short-term jobs, but will eventually result in the diversification of the economy, he said.

Projects such as improvements to Walton Road, which runs alongside the Port St. Lucie Civic Center, and completion of the Treasure Coast, Education, Research and Development Park off Kings Highway, would allow city and county officials to court companies in the biotechnology, biomedical and so-called green industries, Coward said.

“When they’re done (with construction) they’ve actually helped us achieve our broader long-term goals,” he said.

County officials believe both proposals, the state of emergency and the “local preference” ordinance are legally sound.

Many counties already have “local preference” ordinances, including Palm Beach County, said County Attorney Dan McIntyre.

And while a state of emergency typically is declared after natural disasters or acts of terrorism, McIntyre said he believes St. Lucie’s dire economic situation qualifies as an emergency.

“In our case, we have significantly high unemployment and our foreclosure rate is one of the highest in the state if not the country…this is clearly something that’s extraordinary in terms of the effects of the economy,” he said.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Economy, Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, Treasure Coast business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.