JCCD shows an excellent return

Looking for a good investment?

You’re already making one, and chances are you’ve never given it a moment’s thought.

Jay County Community Developer Ami Huffman provided an activity report for Jay County Commissioners this week, and some of the numbers were eye-popping.

Huffman, who is now in her 12th year on the job, has outstanding success securing grant dollars for a host of projects all over the county. Virtually every community in the county has seen grant dollars roll in thanks to her efforts.

The variety of projects is equally impressive.

Some are highly visible — a new fire station in Redkey, a new senior center at Jay Community Center, the fire station and Jay Emergency Medical Service base in Dunkirk and the expansion of Jay-Randolph Developmental Services in Portland — while others involve planning to address everything from downtown re-development to the elimination of combined sewer overflows.

But ultimately, it’s the numbers that knock your socks off.

Through 2016, Huffman’s office has brought in grants totaling $17,682,640. Another $1.5 million could come in this year.

When you do the math and divide the budget for the community developer’s office into the total grant dollars received by Jay County, it figures out to a return of $16.32 for every dollar invested.

That’s a rate of return any investor would jump at.

Financial advisers have a phrase they often repeat: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

And that’s good, conservative advice.

But in this case, it looks like continued investment in community development will pay big rewards in the future. — J.R