Commissioners Corner...
Local dollars down nearly $500K 
August 26, 2011 

The month of August always indicates the start of many things.  School openings are just around the corner, families are taking that last vacation, and of course, The Great Darke County Fair.  As this is written, the fair is in full swing, and by most observations, it looks like the fair may set new attendance records again this year.  If you haven’t been to the fair yet, go and enjoy all it has to offer.  There literally is something there for everyone.  The County Commissioners are enjoying the fair and invite all of you to attend and have a good time.  

The Commissioners office has been a little quieter lately.  We seem to be in a hold pattern for now on a lot of issues.  Some are due to the fact that it is August and people are getting ready for school to start and vacations to end.  Commissioner Rhoades got back on Sunday from the National Plowing Contests in Belmond, Iowa, and so far all he will say is that he did “lousy”!  We are sure that he represented Darke County well. 

We are finally getting some numbers to work with from the State.  In a month or so, we will start working on our budget for 2012.  Our Revenues once again are being cut by the State, so we will adjust accordingly.  Although the loss of State dollars is painful, approximately $560,000 income, down from $1,000,000 the past several years.  The Commissioners and the Elected Officials have already taken steps to assure that Darke County remains within our means.  The Elected Officials and their Staff have worked diligently for the last several years to get the most out of our tax dollars, and without taking a raise.  If you see one of our people that work in the Courthouse, or any County Employee, thank them for doing the thankless job that they do. 

As most of you know by now, the Darke County’s Economic Development office has been on quite a roll this year.  Last week, the Office was able to announce the retention and expansion of 2 longtime businesses in the County.  Ramco Motors and Fram both made huge commitments to grow here and we could not be happier.  Both of these businesses required a lot of effort by a lot of people, but in particular, Marc Saluk, the E.D. Director. The efforts made by the C. I. C., the Partnering 4 Progress Group, the Commissioners and the Economic Development Office, are really making headway in this tough economic climate.  In our conversations with Marc, he still has quite a few projects in the pipeline.  We will let everyone know when we can talk about them.  Marc is a little more at ease now with the way Ohio is implementing the “JOBS OHIO" program.  After a longer than expected transition, it now seems that Marc can complete some of our projects more quickly.  We have a great relationship with Jeff Hoagland who is the head of the Dayton Development Coalition and our contact group for JOBS OHIO.  This relationship allows us to be able at anytime to talk directly with Jeff and to get things done more efficiently.  We will do everything we can to keep Darke County on the present path of economic expansion, and growth, which benefits all of us.  

That seems to be all for now, so go out and enjoy the Great Darke County Fair, and prepare your children for the oncoming start of school.   The Commissioners will be at the Fair, but will still hold their regular public meetings on Monday and Wednesday’s at 1:30 p.m. like always here in the Commissioner’s Office, at 520 South Broadway, south of the Courthouse.  See you there! 

The Darke County Commissioners