Why keep working to attract new industry to Fayette County when the unemployment rate is less than 2 percent?

That's among the questions the Fayette County Development Authority and county staff will be working to answer before the County Commission decides how much money to budget for the authority in fiscal year 2000, which begins in July.

"We have to be concerned about continuing to feed the growth," said commission chairman Harold Bost during the group's annual planning retreat this past weekend. "We don't need more jobs here right now," he said, adding that bringing in more industry without adequate laborers available causes industries to bring more laborers with them, fueling residential growth."

Generally, industries are thought to pay more taxes than they consume in county services, and homes are thought to consume more than they pay, but Bost said it's time to challenge that conventional wisdom.

"We need to think in terms of establishing exactly what do we feel is our goals as far as bringing new business here," Bost added.

Bost presented figures showing that 18 new industries brought into Fayette since 1994 have barely paid enough taxes to cover the costs of bringing them here. Those costs include tax and lease incentives and the Development Authority's operating budget, which has averaged about $175,000 a year.

If homes occupied by the workers pay less in taxes than they consume in services, Bost said, the net result is negative, not positive, for the county.

But some of those tax figures turned out to be inaccurate, and other commissioners suggested more study before making any major changes in the Development Authority.

"We have to go deeper and do some more study on this thing," said Commissioner Herb Frady.

"Every industry they've brought in here is the right kind of industry for Fayette County," said Commissioner Greg Dunn. "I'm not ready to throw out the baby with the bath water."

Commissioners decided to direct county staff to study the impact of new industry on taxes and county services, and present its information to the Development Authority for analysis, then recheck that information based on the authority's response.

Eventually, they hope to arrive at a true understanding of the facts and to act accordingly, commissioners said. "If the numbers and the facts are there [to support aggressive economic development] I want to see them," said Commissioner Linda Wells.

In general, most of the commissioners agreed that the county should take a less aggressive approach to attracting new industry no lease and tax incentives, and no extra infrastructure improvements.