Opinion

Care needed

TBO.com
Published: September 15, 2012

This week, the Pasco County Commission gave its stamp of approval to four companies applying for state grants that would help them pay for moving to Pasco or expanding existing operations here. If all the companies get the grant funding and follow through on their stated plans, the results could be a few hundred more jobs in Pasco. That's not as good as, say, Boeing deciding to open a 787 assembly plant in Odessa, but these days, Pasco will gladly take whatever boosts to its labor market and tax base it can get.

Still, as we found out again, giving public money to companies as an inducement for relocation or expansion can be a tricky thing. On Tuesday, Port St. Lucie-based Digital Domain Media filed for bankruptcy protection because it could not meet a $35 million debt obligation. This action was of interest to people other than Digital Domain's owners because the company, founded by "Titanic" director James Cameron, received a $20 million business grant from the state in 2009. Kevin Ambler, a former Republican state representative from Tampa, served on the company's board. According to news reports, Ambler wrote legislation that allowed the Digital Domain grant request to forgo the usual review process. A posting on a business-related social media site says Ambler's son Jason worked for the company as a special projects director.

Using public money to influence business decision isn't always a bad idea. Such transactions, however, must be handled with maximum transparency and ethical and business discretion.