Job recruiters asked to explain their own.

• Author: Murray, Arthur O.
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler - Brief Article

Two influential state lawmakers want the state's seven regional partnerships to prove that they're doing more than just enriching their presidents. Sen. Howard Lee, a Chapel Hill Democrat, and Sen. Fountain Odom, a Charlotte Democrat, are asking for hard numbers to show that the partnerships are worth the $6 million a year they receive in state funds.

Lee says the partnerships, which are independent nonprofits, duplicate efforts by the N.C. Commerce Department and county economic developers. Critics have long complained they waste money and dilute the state's marketing efforts (cover story, February 1997).

At Lee's and Odom's urging, the Senate's version of the fiscal 2003 state budget asks UNC Chapel Hill to create a scorecard for the partnerships. "We couldn't get concrete results from the Raleigh, Triad or Charlotte ones," Odom says. "They said, 'We manned a booth at the golf tournament or the tennis tournament, and we traveled to London, New York and Paris.' But what jobs did they create?"

"The other factor that contributed to our...