On November 5th Columbia County Commissioners voted three-to-two to make the Industrial Development Authority a County Department. This is not expected to change the way IDA handles its business with companies, however, the executive director of IDA, Jim Poole, says only time will tell.
The IDA is dependent taxing authority that uses their funding to bring businesses and jobs to Columbia County. Within the last six years IDA has brought four companies, with 400 jobs, and a total annual payroll of 15 million dollars.