In the wake of AK Steel's announcement that it would be cutting hours for hundreds of workers at its Middletown, Ohio plant, city officials announced they would be appointing a new economic director for the city.
The position has been vacant since September 2008, when the previous director left for a post in Cincinnati. More than 40 candidates are currently being considered for the job.
According to James Brock, Miami University professor of economics, an economic adviser can combat the growing problems of unemployment and small business failure in a number of ways.
"The person that comes into that position (of economic director) is a middle man," Brock said. "He'll be expected to make contacts and find someone interested in locating an operational organization in Middletown. Basically, his job is to make an analysis of all of the city's available and hopefully attractive assets and find someone who's interested in what they have to offer."
Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. outlined what would be expected of the new economic director.
"The key focus of the position is to attract and retain companies in Middletown," Mulligan said. "This provides a stable income tax base that supports the general fund of the city which pays for core services such as police, fire and EMS (emergency medical services)."
Brock pointed out that selling a low-income suburb to corporate investors is a daunting task in a country where nearly every city has a person doing the same thing, but he also said that Middletown has the important advantages of being located on Interstate 75 and being proximate to several major metropolitan areas.
"With Cleveland and Toledo to the north, Louisville to the south, Pittsburgh to the east and Indianapolis to the west, Middletown has a large market area that someone might find attractive for a business," Brock said.
Mulligan also talked about the importance of capitalizing on Middletown's location.
"The director will need to leverage our position between Dayton and Cincinnati for professional office and technology professions," Mulligan said. "But also include key areas such as health care, education and health sciences."
With 200-300 workers from AK Steel having their schedules cut, interested businesses might see the Middletown area as a high-risk investment, but professor Barnali Gupta, also from Miami's department of economics, said that the rest of the country is in the same situation and a new economic director could be invaluable.
"These are challenging economic times for Middletown and the entire country," Gupta said. "A new economic director can plan a direction for the city, shore up the tax base, provide plans for worker re-training and have long-term ideas to attract future investment to the city."
Brock agreed with his colleague and said he emphasizes the importance of optimism in the difficult situation.
"With AK Steel cutting back hours, Middletown has a lot of men available to work," Brock said. "They also have a lot of empty buildings now that many businesses have moved. They have to ask, 'What can we use it for?' and hopefully there is someone around the country who's interested in such a thing."
Middletown Journal reported that the city hopes to whittle down the list of candidates to five and have the position filled by Jan. 1.
