Businesses have many options when it comes to choosing where to set up shop. Cities that do not have a business-friendly attitude have a hard time retaining existing businesses and attracting new ones. When this happens, downtown and Main Street areas become hollowed out, jobs become scarce, the tax base decreases leaving the city unable to provide public services, and then its citizens move away. It’s a slow and steady death for a community.

When David Vehaun was appointed city manager in 2010, he saw the writing on the wall, so one of his primary goals was to make the city of Rock Hill, SC, (pop. 69,967) more business-friendly. In his first year as manager, he met with business leaders and asked them how the city could make doing business in Rock Hill easier and more attractive. He learned that the city was making it tough on business owners with burdensome regulations and high development fees and property taxes that were killing new development and redevelopment projects.

After his listening tour with the business and development community, Vehaun initiated a number of measures to help the city become more business-friendly. They included a 15 percent reduction in business license fees, a reduction in business property taxes and development fees, a relaxation in some parking and signage restrictions for grand openings, and consolidating services for new businesses all in one place in city hall. Vehaun calls these measures a common-sense approach to tough economic times.

Vehaun’s initiatives and his frank discussions on city regulations have won him some friends in the business community. “I have been impressed,” says one Rock Hill developer of Vehaun about the city’s changes.

With these new measures, Rock Hill has taken needed steps to become a desirable option for new businesses and those looking to expand, possibly attracting businesses from nearby Charlotte and other cities. This will mean more jobs for the citizens of Rock Hill and its neighboring communities, and an improved quality of life.

Meet the Manager

David Vehaun

City Manager

David Vehaun has spent almost his entire career working for the city of Rock Hill. Before being appointed city manager in 2010, he served as the city's financial assistant, budget director, finance director, and management services administrator. He holds a BS from Winthrop University and an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.