PICKENS COUNTY—In an effort to draw more business into Pickens County, county officials have given the “go ahead” to offer a tax break to an unidentified company.

County Administrator Chappell Hurst said the company will not be named due to the fragile nature of the deal.

“We have offered an incentive to a company which cannot be named,” Hurst said. “We’ve offered them land in the business park and we’ve offered them a fee in lieu of tax incentive, which would reduce their taxes from 10.5 percent to six percent for a 20-year period.”

Pickens County Council approved the move on Monday during a second reading of the motion. Hurst said county officials have been trying to make Pickens County an attractive destination for businesses for quite some time.

“We’ve been trying to develop the infrastructure so that Pickens County is more manufacturer friendly,” Hurst said. “We have land available as well as water, sewer, fiber optic cable and all of the things that industries require.”

“We’re also working in conjunction with the school system to develop programs that will help train the young kids so that they would be a productive labor force for prospective young company,” Hurst continued. “We’re trying to make sure our students have the proper talents and use them in a way that can further careers and make them employees that companies would want to hire.”

Hurst said he is hoping this project, entitled “Project Delta” will assist in those efforts.

“We’ve been very fortunate in that our unemployment level isn’t as high as some other counties,” Hurst said. “We want to maintain that status and, in doing so, we’re trying to build a tax base that keeps the taxes of the average citizen down. As you get more people attracted to the county, they pay taxes, they have a job and they spend more money. It basically creates a cycle of prosperity.”

Hurst said there is no timetable on the project, and that a public announcement would come if something were to happen.

“These things are very fragile,” Hurst said. “When we know, there will be a public announcement and everyone will know at the same time.”