Incentives for Slim Jim plant don't meet county standards.

• Position: Triangle

To Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams, it's simple: Wake County commissioners talk big about recruiting and retaining jobs, but they don't follow through--at least not for his town. In January, the county refused to contribute $450,000 to an incentives package Garner officials were assembling to keep Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc. from leaving.

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The company hasn't actually said it plans to, but Williams still worries. A natural-gas explosion in June killed four workers and collapsed part of the roof of the Slim Jim plant, cutting its production of the meat snacks by about half. In November, ConAgra laid off 300 of the 750 local workers and shifted production to other plants. Many in town fear that was a precursor to a shutdown.

"We thought in an effort to entice ConAgra to make the right decision to stay in Garner that we'd have a three-pronged offer--the town, the state and the county," Williams says. "But we only have two of those parties at the table. It's not the way I expected it to go." He says the state pitched in a $450,000 grant, which the town matched with tax breaks. The package also might include state tax breaks. ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs says the company has no timetable for making a decision about the Garner plant. "The incentives will play...