They're puzzled.

• Author: Anderson, Calvin C.
• Position: READERSWRITE

Edward Martin's critique of North Carolina's regional economic-development delivery system ("Do the Pieces Still Fit?" February) included several inaccuracies, omissions and misinterpretations. For example:

* Neither the North Carolina Partnership for Economic Development (NCPED) nor any of the regional partnerships can be faulted for the fact that our cities and counties are unable to extend property-tax abatements in the manner of our South Carolina counterparts. The differences are rooted in restrictions mandated under North Carolina's constitution and by state statute.

* Partnerships engage in global marketing of the assets and amenities unique to their regional economic landscapes, while also providing leadership in strategic planning, infrastructure development, workforce-readiness efforts and small-business support. They do not set or execute state, county or municipal incentive policies, which rest rightly in the hands of elected officials and government leaders.

* Since 2008, the partnerships have worked closely with Commerce to implement uniform performance metrics and accountability standards along the lines suggested in the Program Evaluation Division's exhaustive 2008 study. The division's report spoke supportively of the regional partnerships, noting, for instance, the concerns of many rural communities that without participation in partnership marketing programs they would be without an effective presence in the site-selection process. Also mentioned was the high degree of satisfaction regional partnerships enjoy among users of economic-development services (i.e., North Carolina businesses)--uniformly strong feedback from the entities actually creating jobs and investing in the state. Further, the division recommended recurring state funding for the regional partnerships.

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* The N.C. Department of Commerce rejoined NCPED in October of last year in response to an invitation by the regional partnerships, which share a commitment to improving coordination, communication and collaboration within North Carolina's economic-development community.

* NCPED was established in 1997 by the leaders of the N.C. Department of Commerce and the seven partnerships, not legislators.

* Since their establishment in the 1990s, the state's regional development partnerships have evolved as the emergence of a global market place has spurred dramatic changes in regional economies. As small organizations leveraging a broad array...