State Promotes Business Climate But Spends Little To Recruit

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers repeatedly talk about the state's "business climate" and the need to attract and retain employers, but lately they haven't bought into the idea of spending money to make money. There hasn't been a state economic development plan for more than a decade and just last year the governor appointed the Division of Economic Development's first permanent director in roughly five years. The division's two business recruiters also don't have money to travel out of state for recruitment meetings or trade shows, and the state lacks an online portal with key recruitment information that many states have. The state's two business recruiters currently have no money to travel across the country; they can go wherever they can get on a tank of gas, which primarily means Massachusetts and Quebec, said Carmen Lorentz, director of the Division of Economic Development. The proposed budget also includes $65,000 for new technology, including the building of a "site selection" website, a key resource for businesses in the early stages of the moving process and a near industry-wide standard.