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Commissioner’s Corner
Darke County’s
unemployment is at 4 percent
Welcome to 2016! Here’s hoping that everyone had a wonderful Christmas
and a very Happy New Year! The ringing in of a new year always brings
new hope of better things to come, and this year is no different. We in
the Commissioner’s office are looking forward to another good year,
continuing our progress as we have the last few years.
As of this writing, the Darke County unemployment rate is at 4.0%. This
is good news, as this is one of the lowest in the State. However, the
low rate does make it harder for companies to hire people. Fortunately,
we are one of the State leaders in Workforce development. We will
continue with this for the foreseeable future to make sure our
employers have qualified workers to fill their needs. The Partnering 4
Progress initiative is always looking for new members, and if you wish
to join this group who has helped make our efforts successful, you may
contact any Commissioner or the Economic Development office for further
details at 548-3250. Please don’t forget, if you are seeking
employment, or are an employer looking for help, go to the website
hometownopportunity.com. This website is a valuable tool for everyone,
and helps to keep people and companies viable in Darke County, where we
want them to stay and grow!
We have other areas we are going to try and work on this year. One of
our pressing needs is the Courthouse steps. Our front steps are in need
of replacement, and when the weather breaks, we will look at the right
solutions. On our radar also is continued building maintenance. Our
buildings have some age on them, and continued upgrades are always
needed to make sure they remain in working condition for many more
years. Upgrades need to be made to our technology, too. As fast as
technology changes, most upgrades need to happen at least every 5
years. These upgrades are expensive, and require a lot of maintenance.
One area of technology that is requiring a lot of our time is the
upgrades to the 911 system. As of this writing, we are still gathering
information on the needs, and costs for the system. This will be a
major expense, but we are
looking at grants and other avenues to help with the funding. Along
with the 911 system, the Darke County Jail and Sheriff’s office is
another area in need of constant improvement. A large portion of our
budget goes to the Sheriff’s office, but it is one of only two offices
in the county that never close; the Sheriff and the County Home. Both
buildings get a lot of traffic, so maintenance and upgrades are
important In order to save the County money on vehicle maintenance, we
have started a county maintenance facility for all county owned
vehicles. The current facility is on Jackson Street, across from Family
Health. We hope to expand our services by including in the future all
village and county vehicles, but as of now, only the County vehicles
will be serviced regularly, cutting down maintenance costs. The Darke
County Airport is another area we are very focused on. We know that in
order to keep our companies and others happy, we need a viable airport.
Since we have taken over we have added some new tenants, made some
security upgrades and made upgrades to our fueling system. We hope to
in the future add some new tenants who are looking to locate at the
airport, and we are still working on the Chase road widening and the
runway extension. We will remain in contact with the F.A.A. on these
important projects.
As you can tell, improvements on the courthouse steps, building
maintenance, Sheriffs cars and office improvements, our 911
improvements, vehicle maintenance, and of course the very important
airport are our priorities for this year. Who knows what else will pop
up that demands our attention, but we will be ready to face them I am
sure. If you have any comments, they are always welcome, so why don’t
you come to a meeting? We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
with the public at 520 South Broadway in Greenville, just south of the
Courthouse. Hope to see you there!!
The Darke County Commissioners
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