The Executive Director of the Development Authority of Burke County is taking on some additional duties.
Austin Stacy has been elected as the new Chairman of the Unified Development Authority (UDA). He will be joined by Janet Parker, Director of the Wilkes County Payroll Development Authority, elected as Vice Chairman at the meeting earlier this month.
“It (UDA) was put into play because joint development authorities allow for those communities to get more tax credits for businesses they recruit from the state. And so, depending on what tier you fall within, you can get $500 more per job credit if you know one of those counties as part of the UDA,” Stacy explained for ABD.
UDA oversees the Augusta Regional Development Alliance (ARDA). The organizations represent a partnership of the 13 counties that make up the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). Each county appoints two members to the UDA. Membership consists of Development Authorities or Chambers of Commerce in Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington, and Wilkes counties.
“My stance that I’m going to take is, how can we invest into ourselves, and how can we get more money, more dollars from the state, to invest into our sites, whether that be bringing more sites to market, to increase our odds of more projects, or determining where our hang ups are at with our existing sites,” said Stacy.
It is a goal echoed by Parker in the news release announcing her election.
“We are committed to leveraging regional partnerships as we continue to steer resources, good-paying jobs, and clean, sustainable industry to Wilkes County. It is an honor and privilege to serve the people of Washington, Wilkes, and the Central Savannah River Area,” she said.
ARDA is a project-oriented organization of volunteers from a public-private partnership that includes hospitals, Augusta University and Augusta Technical College, and general contractors. The goal is to improve the standard of living across the metro Augusta region.
“Regionalism is our best friend, because if I land a project in Burke, pretty much almost every county within the region is going to benefit, because people will drive 45 minutes, 60 minutes for a high-quality, paying job,” said Stacy. “When I got here in Burke, that was one thing that I wanted to really emphasize, was regionalism, strengthening our region. A win for one county is a win for all.”
Stacy encourages members of the public to contact their local development office if there is a specific project they believe would enhance their community.
“Because it’s not as easy as, ‘Hey, I want a grocery store,’ and I go out and get you a grocery store. But there are definitely things and processes that can occur,” he said. “Economic development is not an overnight thing by any stretch. So, if we can be informed of what our community wants, we can definitely do our jobs, one, a lot easier and two, a lot quicker.”
Stacy said, while he and leaders of economic development authorities across the region communicate on a regular basis, ARDA UDA is a chance for representatives of all 13 counties to meet as a group.
