Editorial: Economic development officials should always think regionally

ANDERSON — Praising companies that bring new jobs to Madison County is easy.

Last week, Affiliated Computer Services announced it would hire another 300 people for its Anderson call center at Flagship Enterprise Park. The announcement, made by the parent company Xerox, will bring the number of ACS Inc. employees to 1,000 in Anderson. Most beginning workers earn about $10 an hour.

Praising jobs that come to other counties is tougher. We get kind of jealous.

For example, Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., recently announced it would open a railroad locomotive assembly plant on the south side of Muncie in the former ABB/Westinghouse site. Officials expect to employ by 2012 up to 650 workers, earning wages that promise to be much higher than those offered by ACS Inc.

While folks in Muncie would applaud those efforts, we in Madison County need to applaud them, too, for the simple reason that county residents will apply for, and likely grab, some of those jobs.

Each of these announcements remind us that our county’s economy and work force are still fragile as we struggle with our post-auto industry phase.

With 10.7 percent unemployment in September, Madison County had the 17th highest rate among Indiana counties. Delaware was 24th; Grant was 20th.

While counties typically have their own economic development group, most unite in some fashion for a regional group. The local Corporation for Economic Development lists properties available for development and information about the community. This group keeps in touch with regional workforce boards. State Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, has been one of the local representatives on the regional board. She hosted a small business luncheon this year with Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, and Rep. Scott Reske, D-Pendleton.

The idea is to provide small businesses with a link to help them thrive and expand.

All economic development officials and business leaders should think regionally. This concept sometimes gets overlooked by business owners struggling day-to-day. It’s also difficult for those looking for work to think regionally, though it certainly expands possibilities when they do.

Madison County has its share of possibilities for business growth. And residents should continue to applaud local successes. But there’s more room to grow when we all think of business on a regional level.