New Hanover County Commissioners held a joint meeting yesterday with Wilmington City Council on local economic development. WHQR’s Andrew Jarachovic reports, that the recent boom in the film industry was brought up as an example of an effective use of tax incentives.
The local film business is on the upswing after a downturn of several years when Canada and some American states including Louisiana lured away productions with tax incentives.
Wilmington City Councilman Kevin O’Grady says North Carolina has now really hit the sweet spot with economic incentives compared to other states.
“. . . those that went way overboard and gave too generous an incentive have not been able to sustain those incentives because they’re too expensive. So now, we’ve got the crews, we’ve got the locations, and we’ve got the film studios. And, we’ve got a fair incentive plan and, as you can see, this year it’s brought us a lot of business.”
County and City officials agreed to schedule another meeting in the near future to evaluate various industries and develop effective strategies for economic growth.