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Putnam County CIC Members Urge Commissioners to Rehire Group

Posted on: Saturday, 14 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By By David Trinko Dtrinkolimanews.Com 419-993-2098, The Lima News, Ohio

Jan. 14--OTTAWA -- A trio of Putnam County Community Improvement Corp. board members urged the county commissioners to consider rehiring the CIC to handle its economic development Friday.

"A lot of things happened before I got back on the CIC again in 2005," said John Love, who owns funeral homes in the county. "I'm not totally up to date on what happened before, but I think a new day is dawning. There's an opportunity now that could be explored."

Love told the commissioners the CIC's track record for bringing businesses to Putnam County speaks for itself. He said it's a cost-effective investment compared to the county having its own economic development director.

The debate flared back up last week, when Putnam County Economic Development Director Lee Schroeder announced his resignation to take a similar job with the Henry County CIC. The issue began when the previous board of commissioners hired Lee Schroeder in August 2004, ending a long association with the CIC as the county's economic development agent.

Vincent Schroeder, the chairman of the commissioners this year, reiterated his willingness for the county economic development director to work with the CIC, assuring CIC board member Jim Ruen that any business that specifically requested the CIC's services could do so.

Commissioner Bob Riepenhoff stuck with his previous statements, urging Vincent Schroeder and Tom Price to consider eliminating the economic development director's job and hire the CIC.

"The most effective economic development organization in this county has been and is the CIC," Riepenhoff said. "It's not us, a chamber of commerce or (Ottawa Community Development Director Jeff) Loehrke."

The commissioners had a separate meeting about the job postponed Friday, as several business leaders couldn't make the morning appointment.

The costs and benefits of the CIC running economic development and the county doing it remain a topic of discussion. Figures provided by Schroeder, the chairman this year, showed the CIC received $50,000 in revolving loan fund administration fees, $35,000 in enterprise zone compensation payments, $27,000 in enterprise zone annual fees and $25,000 in annual county contributions in 2002, before the county ended its relationship with the CIC. The CIC paid the county $8,000 per year, for a net payment of $129,000, by Vincent Schroeder's reasoning.

In comparison, he said, the county-run office keeps the now-$45,000 in revolving loan fund administration, $16,000 in enterprise zone compensation payments and $9,000 in enterprise zone annual fees. Vincent Schroeder also noted the county saved the $25,000 in annual contributions, totaling a $95,000 swing. The economic development office has a $95,000 appropriation for this year, but that figure doesn't account for the $8,000 of in-kind rent or any travel expenses for the developer.

The conversation heated up at times between the commissioners and the CIC board members and even among the commissioners themselves.

The commissioners already posted the economic developer's position earlier this week, but Vincent Schroeder said the commissioners would consider the CIC members' ideas.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Lima News, Ohio

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Source: The Lima News

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