July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Search on for funding (02/13/08)
Jay County Development Corporation
By By MIKE SNYDER-
The leading force in economic development in Jay County is spending funds more quickly than it receives them.
And members of the Jay County Development Corporation board of directors want to take steps to change that situation.
JCDC executive director Bill Bradley told board members Tuesday that members of the group's executive committee have begun putting together a long-range plan to generate more revenue.
The organization, which is funded through both private and public funds, has reserve accounts of approximately $38,000. Bradley said that without changes, those reserves will be depleted in about two years.
A large chunk - about 80 percent - of JCDC's annual budget of $169,000 comes from public funds, with the majority comprised of property tax revenue.
Jay County also allocates $15,000 annually for JCDC marketing efforts, and about $85,000 for community development, a figure that is not included in the 80 percent for the JCDC budget
The JCDC executive committee, comprised of officers and past presidents, will research and explore alternative funding sources and develop a long-range plan that will be brought to the full board.
"It's important to take one step back ... and put a plan together ... that will carry us the next five years," Joe Johnston, JCDC president and CEO of Jay County Hospital, said Tuesday.
Bradley said this morning, "My goal is to get a better mixture between the private and the public sector. The private sector needs to step up ..."
Also Tuesday, board members heard a presentation from Rick Leibowitz, director of the East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center.
The center, which is also a private-public partnership funded by federal and local funds, provides assistance to prospective and existing small businesses - defined under federal guidelines as those employing 200 or fewer and with gross annual sales of $5 million or less.
Assistance includes one-on-one business counseling, training seminars, research assistance, record keeping set-up, bookkeeping advice and assistance with loan applications.
Leibowitz said that over the past 10 years, the large majority of jobs created in the United States have been in small businesses.
The ECI SBDC office, which serves eight counties, is located in Muncie. Its host organization is Ivy Tech Community College.
Counties served by the group are Jay, Randolph, Wayne, Henry, Delaware, Blackford, Madison and Grant.
Bradley said Tuesday that he would like to see Jay and other smaller counties in the region form a partnership to bring an SBDC representative to those counties on a regular basis - possibly once or twice per month.
He said statistics show that most entrepreneurs will not travel to "the big city" to use such services.
"We're not talking about a whole lot of money ... this is something we're going to talk about," Bradley said.
In other business, JCDC board members:
•Learned that the redesigned JCDC web site is projected to debut on Tuesday, April 1. Bradley, who has been working every other Friday on website issues, asked board members for input and suggestions for content and links on the site. The address for the new site has not been determined.
•Received an update on activities for Jay County Community Development from director Ami Huffman, who is currently working on four large grant projects.
She is working with officials from Dunkirk and Jay Emergency Medical Service on plans for a combined fire station/EMS base just east of Dunkirk on county road 400 South. The project has received a $500,000 state grant. "We're looking forward to hearing back from the architect soon to bid that out," she said.
She is also working with Community and Family Services to obtain a $50,000 planning grant. The grant will be used to determine the best approach to building an addition on the CFS offices, located at 521 S. Wayne St., Portland, to house the Helping Hand Food Bank. The food bank is currently housed in a building across the street from CFS.
•Heard Bradley say that work continues on bringing resolution to EDIT loans made to Omnicity, a high-speed wireless Internet provider. The company, which was loaned $494,000 in EDIT funds, has struggled to make payments. Bradley said a positive development in the situation could be announced soon.
On a related note, Bradley also said that Pennville is considering a $100,000 loan to GFT Corporation, a manufacturer of high-tech insulation products. Members of the Jay County EDIT advisory committee and the JCDC board recently declined a request for another EDIT loan from GFT.
In 2005, the company was granted a $500,000 line-of-credit from county EDIT funds.
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And members of the Jay County Development Corporation board of directors want to take steps to change that situation.
JCDC executive director Bill Bradley told board members Tuesday that members of the group's executive committee have begun putting together a long-range plan to generate more revenue.
The organization, which is funded through both private and public funds, has reserve accounts of approximately $38,000. Bradley said that without changes, those reserves will be depleted in about two years.
A large chunk - about 80 percent - of JCDC's annual budget of $169,000 comes from public funds, with the majority comprised of property tax revenue.
Jay County also allocates $15,000 annually for JCDC marketing efforts, and about $85,000 for community development, a figure that is not included in the 80 percent for the JCDC budget
The JCDC executive committee, comprised of officers and past presidents, will research and explore alternative funding sources and develop a long-range plan that will be brought to the full board.
"It's important to take one step back ... and put a plan together ... that will carry us the next five years," Joe Johnston, JCDC president and CEO of Jay County Hospital, said Tuesday.
Bradley said this morning, "My goal is to get a better mixture between the private and the public sector. The private sector needs to step up ..."
Also Tuesday, board members heard a presentation from Rick Leibowitz, director of the East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center.
The center, which is also a private-public partnership funded by federal and local funds, provides assistance to prospective and existing small businesses - defined under federal guidelines as those employing 200 or fewer and with gross annual sales of $5 million or less.
Assistance includes one-on-one business counseling, training seminars, research assistance, record keeping set-up, bookkeeping advice and assistance with loan applications.
Leibowitz said that over the past 10 years, the large majority of jobs created in the United States have been in small businesses.
The ECI SBDC office, which serves eight counties, is located in Muncie. Its host organization is Ivy Tech Community College.
Counties served by the group are Jay, Randolph, Wayne, Henry, Delaware, Blackford, Madison and Grant.
Bradley said Tuesday that he would like to see Jay and other smaller counties in the region form a partnership to bring an SBDC representative to those counties on a regular basis - possibly once or twice per month.
He said statistics show that most entrepreneurs will not travel to "the big city" to use such services.
"We're not talking about a whole lot of money ... this is something we're going to talk about," Bradley said.
In other business, JCDC board members:
•Learned that the redesigned JCDC web site is projected to debut on Tuesday, April 1. Bradley, who has been working every other Friday on website issues, asked board members for input and suggestions for content and links on the site. The address for the new site has not been determined.
•Received an update on activities for Jay County Community Development from director Ami Huffman, who is currently working on four large grant projects.
She is working with officials from Dunkirk and Jay Emergency Medical Service on plans for a combined fire station/EMS base just east of Dunkirk on county road 400 South. The project has received a $500,000 state grant. "We're looking forward to hearing back from the architect soon to bid that out," she said.
She is also working with Community and Family Services to obtain a $50,000 planning grant. The grant will be used to determine the best approach to building an addition on the CFS offices, located at 521 S. Wayne St., Portland, to house the Helping Hand Food Bank. The food bank is currently housed in a building across the street from CFS.
•Heard Bradley say that work continues on bringing resolution to EDIT loans made to Omnicity, a high-speed wireless Internet provider. The company, which was loaned $494,000 in EDIT funds, has struggled to make payments. Bradley said a positive development in the situation could be announced soon.
On a related note, Bradley also said that Pennville is considering a $100,000 loan to GFT Corporation, a manufacturer of high-tech insulation products. Members of the Jay County EDIT advisory committee and the JCDC board recently declined a request for another EDIT loan from GFT.
In 2005, the company was granted a $500,000 line-of-credit from county EDIT funds.
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