Press Release from Junction City-Geary County Economic Development Commission
Why Confidentiality is Crucial in Economic Development
Confidentiality is more than just a formality in economic development; it is a key ingredient and successfully attracting new businesses to Junction City and Geary County. As much as the JC-GCEDC values transparency, our work often requires us to balance openness with the need to protect sensitive information.
Economic development is a marathon, not a sprint. The attraction process requires trust between the JC-GCEDC and prospective businesses. By respecting confidentiality, we foster strong relationships that ultimately create high-paying jobs, significant capital investments, and a thriving local economy.
Understanding Confidentiality in Economic Development
At the JC-GCEDC we work diligently to recruit, retain, and expand businesses in our community. However, many aspects of these operations must remain confidential until the time is right. The confidentiality is not about withholding information from the public; it’s about ensuring that our community secures the best possible opportunities for growth and prosperity.
Private companies operate under different rules than public entities. They often face competitive pressures, ongoing contract negotiations, and the need to protect proprietary information. When a business expresses interest in relocating or expanding into our area, early disclosure of its plans can create challenges that could potentially mean the loss of potential jobs and economic impact.
What Happens When There is a Breach of Confidentiality
Imagine this scenario: A business is considering relocating to Junction City and Geary county. They’ve begun the due diligence, exploring potential sites and evaluating incentive packages. If this information leaks prematurely, several negative outcomes could occur:
- Increased Land Prices: Once word gets out that a company is interested in a particular site, landowners might hike their prices above market value, making the project financially unfeasible.
- Competitive Bidding Wars: Neighboring states, counties, or cities could swoop in, offering better incentive packages to lure the business away, resulting in a lost opportunity for our community.
- Loss of Trust: If a company feels its confidential information has been compromised, it might back out of the deal entirely, losing potential jobs and investments. This breach of trust could also prevent other businesses from choosing to locate in our area.
By maintaining discretion during the early stages of business attraction, we protect the company’s and our community’s interests, ensuring the future economic viability of Junction City and Geary County, Kansas.
The Role of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)
The JC-GCEDC often signs an NDA with prospective businesses to safeguard sensitive information. These agreements ensure that details about a company’s financials, relocation plans, employee numbers, and product lines remain confidential until they are ready to go public. These NDAs aim to protect the company’s strategic interest, which ultimately benefit everyone involved. After the details are finalized, we can share the good news with the community.
Balancing Confidentiality with Transparency
One of the most frequently discussed topics among city and county leadership is the need for transparency. While we understand and respect this need, it’s important to recognize that our confidentiality agreements protect the long-term success of our economic development efforts.
At the JC-GCEDC, we are committed to sharing positive news about new business attractions and expansions as soon as we can. Once a company has completed the incentive process, secured commercial real estate, notified employees, and officially selected Junction City and Geary County as its site, we proudly share this information with our community. We aim to keep you informed, but only when it will ensure the success of the projects we work so hard to bring to our area.
Building Trust for a Successful Future
Our reputation for trust and confidentiality makes our economic development process unique. It’s why businesses choose to work with us, and it’s why we continue to see success in attracting new opportunities to Junction City and Geary County.
As we continue to work on behalf of our community, we ask for your understanding and support. Rest assured that when the time is right, we will share the exciting news of new business ventures and expansions, celebrating together the growth and prosperity confidentiality has helped make possible.