ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 1, 1996 TAG: 9607010102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
In a bid to draw more tourists and businesses to Virginia, the state Department of Economic Development is being replaced today by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
The Economic Development Partnership, created by the General Assembly in 1995, is an independent agency that is supposed to operate like a private company.
``We're still an agency of government, but now we have the flexibility to act as a corporation,'' said Morgan Stewart, the partnership's spokesman. ``We will have the ability to react faster because of the loosened bureaucratic restraints.''
The state economic development department is transferring five divisions to the partnership: national business development, international business development, tourism, research and advertising and public relations.
Even though it remains a part of the government, the partnership will not be bound by the same procurement, personnel and public access rules that the department had to follow.
Patrick McMahon, director of the Virginia Tourism Corporation - part of the new agency - said the new rules will allow the VEDP to keep secrets that make it easier to attract business.
``Until we put the numbers on the table, we don't want the competition to know what we're doing,'' he said. ``You don't want North Carolina or South Carolina to know what strategy you're using to attract a company like IBM.''
McMahon said that not having to deal with bureaucrats will allow the Tourism Corporation to react faster by changing advertising to suit new market conditions.
``You have to buy what you need and you have to do it very quickly,'' he said. ``Under normal state procurement, it could take three or four months to do something and we don't have that kind of time. We compete against other states and private sector companies like Disney. It's all destinations,'' he said.
The partnership will be funded by the state and won't be expected to earn money, Stewart said.
VEDP is governed by a 15-member board of directors appointed by the governor. The board includes an executive director, Wayne L. Sterling, the secretaries of commerce and finance and a representative from each of the state's 12 congressional districts, Stewart said.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 linesby CNB