Let’s pause from the Skybus deal for a moment (surely there’s more to come since this thing keeps getting stranger) to take a look at RF Micro Devices, which has had nothing but bad news since it scored (again) $1.2 million in incentives from the City of Greensboro.

First, I found it interesting that RF Micro exec VP Jerry Neal still has a “chip” on his shoulder over the way his company (gasp) was treated when Guilford County Commissioners turned down a $1 million incentives request:

Neal stresses ever-so-diplomatically that RF Micro executives did not appreciate statements and insinuations made by several commissioners last summer that the company was “bluffing” when it spoke of other location options and if it had already decided on expanding in Greensboro, it did not need incentives.

It’s disappointing that Democratic commissioners (both whom I respect) saw it that way, too:

Kirk Perkins, chairman of the Guilford commissioners, says he regrets the way RF Micro officials were treated by several of his colleagues when the incentives request was made. Perkins voted in favor of the request.

“I believed all along that they could do this work anywhere,” he says. “Sometimes incentives aren’t always about the money. Sometimes it’s telling a company, ‘We’re glad you’re here and appreciate what you do.’ When you treat people like you don’t want them, that’s going to come back and bite you.”

Commissioner Paul Gibson, who voted against the RF Micro request, says he never thought the company was bluffing, but he says he believes the company was going to locate the new plant wherever it made the most business sense, regardless of the incentives.

Still, he adds: “Unfortunately, our board has a hard time not being contentious. We have a hard time discussing issues in a respectful and dignified way. That’s not good. We can vehemently disagree on issues, but we should be able to do it respectfully.”

Funny, I didn’t see it that way. RF Micro kept telling commissioners how lucky the Triad was to have them here before pulling out a real whopper right before the vote:

When it looked like the vote would not be favorable, RF Micro pulled out one last ditch effort, bringing property consultant Patrick Zimmer to the podium. Zimmer proceeded to tell commissioners they even luckier than they knew to have the incentives request brought before them, because Greensboro and Guilford County initally “weren’t even on the radar screen” for this project. Durham was the only U.S. site under consideration, and the reason why it was eliminated is because “Durham County made an arbitrary decision that they would not provide infrastructure assistance….Durham gambled, and they did lose.”

Look, I realize that, like Skybus, RF Micro’s incentives were performance-based and, as the Biz Journal points out, they’re still on the table, though Neal says he doesn’t know when the $100 million manufacturing facility will open. But let’s take a look at the big picture. Local governments, along with a cheeleading local media, keep telling us how incentives for companies “make us all winners.” But in the end, companies end up doing whatever the hell they want — or need —- to do. It’s rough world out there, and local leaders just don’t seem to realize what a big gamble the incentives game is.