Numbers sometimes lie

The raw numbers from a Ball State University wage study released last week paint a bleak picture for the county and state, but the lead author says he feels Jay County is doing a good job economically given its circumstances.
Jay County’s “real per capita income” of $27,478 per year is equivalent to what the national average was in 1982, according to the study that is based on 2010 numbers. That is tied for sixth-worst in the state.
The state average, meanwhile, is about $34,000, which is equivalent to the national average from 1996.
The current national average is  $39,775.60.
“There are several things that cause this, some of them very benign and some of them very alarming,” said Michael Hicks, who headed up the study and is the director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research. “The benign factors I think are likely to play a fairly big part in Jay County.”
One of those factors is the high level of farming in Jay County, which the study says tend to drag down average income numbers because “farms hold great wealth but also garner low incomes as a consequence of ownership arrangements.”
Another, Hicks said, is that Jay County and the surrounding areas lack the natural resources (mountains and “water features”, such as oceans or lakes) that tend to attract high earners. And it is also not close to any growing urban area.
So while the numbers look bad, Hicks said he would rate Portland, along with the Delta schools/Albany area of Delaware County, Yorktown and Winchester, as the four communities in east central Indiana that are performing well economically.
“On a county-wide basis, I think (Jay County is) as good as any county in east central Indiana,” he said. “Parts of the county are doing extremely well.”
The study identifies several keys to improving per capita income, one of which is participation of the workforce. That’s an area in which Jay County has traditionally done well, as its unemployment is consistently low compared to the rest of the state.
But another key factor is the percentage of the workforce that has a college degree.
“A simple factor like educational attainment explains a significant share of overall economic growth (and hence personal income),” the study said.
Area officials agreed retaining college graduates and trying to attract college graduates from outside of Jay County is something they would like to improve on. It was a topic of discussion during a recent forum Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman attended along with other local officials and representatives from local industries, WorkOne and Jay School Corporation.
“We haven’t done enough,” said Geesaman, noting that his two sons don’t live or work in Jay County. “Now that we’ve identified that as something we want to go after, we need to tackle that more. … I think that’s something we can address and improve on.”
Schools are among the most important factors, Hicks said, for attracting residents who have college degrees, and he noted that it is an area where Jay County has been above average. He also noted that amenities such as parks, pools, walking trails and youth sports programs are drawing cards.
Geesaman also pointed to Jay County Hospital, Arts Place and John Jay Center For Learning as points of community pride.
While those things can catch the eyes of individuals, Dunkirk Mayor Dan Watson said he hopes his city’s infrastructure can help attract new businesses and industries.
“We’ve got a new water plant. Our sewer plant … will be up to date,” said Watson, also mentioning that his city is not having to deal with the issues of a sewer separation project. “That’s one thing that’s going to be good. We won’t have to worry about those issues. That’s one benefit that we have.”
Bill Bradley, Jay County’s community developer, Geesaman and Watson all said they’re working to bring new businesses to the area. Geesaman specifically is hoping for several Fort Recovery industries to look at Portland as an expansion site, and Watson wants to breath new life into the Dunkirk downtown area as well as attract new industries.
A strength Jay County has had, according to Bradley, is that businesses within the county have continued to expand here.
“That has been our bread and butter,” Bradley said. “We do have some from the outside looking at us right now.
“The big game right now that we’re all in is improving the average median family income so that Hoosiers obviously have more to spend. If they have more to spend, that creates more activity in the county, it creates jobs, everybody is better.”
Trying to get better is the key, Hicks said, and he praised Jay County for its efforts in that area.
He praised community leaders for the work they’ve done to be responsive to the needs and wants of the citizenship, especially noting John Jay Center for Learning. There is no “magic bullet”, he said, for economic growth and that Jay County should continue the proactive path it has been on.
“I don’t have a lot of insight for Portland or Jay County that doesn’t match what I think is already going on there,” said Hicks. “There are some tough spots … but for a community its size, it’s as nice a place as you could visit as anywhere going.”[[In-content Ad]]