Streetsboro’s industrial investments again rank highest of new and expanding industries by community in Portage County… 

The City of Streetsboro has been growing steadily again this past year bringing in new industrial growth and new jobs to the city and the residents of Portage County.  The industrial growth in Streetsboro this past year brought an additional $89.7 Million in industrial investments for the City of Streetsboro according to a recent report from the Portage County Office of Economic Development.  Along with these investments there was also and increase in jobs creating a new 585 jobs, however there was a small reduction in jobs retained according to reports which reported 49 less jobs retained.  The newest reports now indicate that the City of Streetsboro has brought a total of 50 projects totaling $477.7 million in investments, 3,611 new jobs, and 1,645 jobs retained.

The number of projects for the City of Streetsboro was up 16 from the second highest performing city, Aurora.   Aurora in the same period brought in 34 new industrial projects and $141.5 million in investments as well as creating 1,462 new jobs and retaining 749 jobs since 1992.

Portage County over all had an increase of 82 new companies and 64 expansions in the 13 cities or villages.   The actual total investments to the county equaled $842,158,980 million with more than 6,800 new jobs and more than 5,000 retained jobs. - Portage County Office of Economic Development

 For the complete report of Portage Counties Industrial Growth Patterns visit the Download Center at www.portageworkforce.org/pcoed

STREETSBORO INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENTS RANK HIGHEST IN COUNTY

Streetsboro brings in $388 million in total investments since 1992, leading the county in total investments, number of projects, and job creation.

The City of Streetsboro has been growing steadily over the past decade bringing in new industrial growth and new jobs to the city and the residents of Portage County.  The industrial growth in Streetsboro brought a total of 49 new industrial projects to Portage County over this time, which has totaled $388 Million in investments for the City of Streetsboro and the county, created 3,026 new jobs and retained 1,694 jobs. 

The number of projects for the City of Streetsboro was up 15 from the second highest performing city, Aurora.   Aurora in the same period brought in 34 new industrial projects and $129 million in investments as well as creating 1,327 new jobs and retaining 760 jobs.  Portage County over all had an increase of 81 new companies and 63 expansions in the 13 cities or villages.   The actual total investments to the county equaled $729,578,704 million with more than 6,000 new jobs and more than 5,000 retained jobs.

Where We are Growing 1992 - Sept. 2004

Industrial Projects - New and Expanding Industries by Community...Top five.

CHANGES IN THE FAX LAW COULD AFFECT YOUR COMPANY

It is very possible that your company’s complete procedure for handling faxes may be forced to change.  The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004 passed in July 2003 and becomes effective January 1, 2005.

It is very possible that your company’s complete procedure for handling faxes may be forced to change.  The Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004 passed in July 2003 and becomes effective January 1, 2005.  This means that unless Congress changes the law prior to that, a person, business, or association must get written, signed consent from the recipient before sending a requested fax.  Even commercial information specifically requested by customers or members cannot be faxed without a prior written, signed consent. 

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce small business owners indicate that two-thirds of small business will be required to obtain this written consent from more than 100 separate fax numbers in the first year alone.  A survey of small business members revealed that the new rules would cost them each at least $5,000 in the first year and more than $3,000 each year thereafter.  They estimate that it would require more than 27 hours of staff time to obtain the initial written consent from their customers, plus 20 hours each year—far above the FCC’s estimate that paperwork compliance would take 30 minutes. 

The solution to the removal of the term (ERB—Established Business Relationship) which currently allows businesses and associations permission to send faxes to customers and members where there is an established business relationship (ERB), is S. 2603, the “Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004”.  The solution is to clearly reinstate the EBR exception to allow businesses, associations and charities to send commercial faxes to their customers and members without first receiving written permission; require senders of faxes to alert recipients of their right to opt-out of future faxes and to abide by such requests; and send out FCC reporting requirements so Congress can monitor the FCC’s enforcement activity.  This bi-partisan bill balances industry’s need to communicate by fax with customers’ need for legitimate information.

Where it stands now is that the House of Representatives passed the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2004 (H.R. 4600) on July 20th, 2004.  Senate must pass S. 2603 in order to reinstate the established business relationship so that associations and small businesses do not have to commit considerable resources and money to begin preparing for implementation on January 1st, 2005.  If you or your company would like to take action or voice your opinion contact Senator Mike DeWine http://dewine.senate.gov/ or George V. Voinovich http://voinovich.senate.gov/

For a model Consent Fax Form that may be used if you feel it is needed go to the Download Center.  Or call and request a copy of the draft model Consent Fax Form from the chamber office at 330-626-4769.  

STREETSBORO LEADS PORTAGE COUNTY IN JOB CREATION - According to a study by the Center for Policy Studies and Institute for Health and Social Policy at the University of Akron, the national and global trends toward suburbanization have directly impacted the City of Streetsboro.  

 According to a study by the Center for Policy Studies and Institute for Health and Social Policy at the University of Akron, the national and global trends toward suburbanization have directly impacted the City of Streetsboro.  Streetsboro has seen a growth rate of 9.3% in business establishments from 1993 to 2002, exceeding other communities in the county by at least 3.7%. The city has also found itself leading the county in job creation and total wages over the past 10 years.  With the new business coming into the city, Streetsboro has seen a growth of 20% in employment and 26.3% growth in total wages exceeding all other Portage County communities by 13.3% in employment and 15.1% in total wages. 

Much of its growth in wages has been contributed to the growth in service industries, wholesale trade, finance/insurance/real estate sectors, and non-durable goods manufacturing which accounted for 45% of all manufacturing employment within the five county region in 2002.  Manufacturing is generally the target of economic development and tends to pay above-average wages and manufacturing products tend to be export-oriented.  Such export-oriented industries bring in funds from outside the region.  Even though some sectors of manufacturing have seen a net loss in jobs over the past 10 years including steel, tires & tubes, and aircraft / parts, other manufacturing industries have seen gains in employment in that same period.  Industries in the area that are making up for the losses elsewhere include  the industrial and machinery equipment, motor vehicles and equipment, gaskets and seals, fabricated structural products and construction / mining / handling equipment.  The trend in employment is flowing away from heavy manufacturing and toward the manufacturing of value-added products such as parts and equipment.  This new wave of manufacturing is producing high performing industries paying above average wages which are contributing to the 26.3% growth in wages in the City of Streetsboro bringing total wages for the city to more than $48 million in 2002 continuously increasing the contributions to the city income tax.  Streetsboro’s profound ability to attract a wide variety of high performing  industries has contributed to the good economic climate that will continue to contribute to the success of the business climate as a whole attracting more qualified workers that are technology-oriented which will continue to make Streetsboro businesses competitive in the region.      - Cathy Bieterman, Streetsboro Chamber of Commerce

CHANGES TO EMPLOYEE OVERTIME - After a period of considerable delay involving the consideration of written comments, intense lobbying and political maneuvering, the Department of Labor’s new regulations concerning the payment of overtime are scheduled to become effective on August 23, 2004. 

The changes which these regulations will effect fall into four major categories:

1)       The primary duties tests for the executive, administrative and professional exemptions have been simplified and clarified.  Now one simpler test will be applied with respect to each potential exemption.

2)       The minimum salary levels which must be in satisfied in order for employees to qualify for one of these exemptions have been raised.  Now there will be one figure of $455 per week ($26,660 per year).

3)       The regulations will create a new exemption — one for “Highly Compensated Employees”.  To qualify for this exemption, an employee must be paid total annual compensation of at least $100,000 per year. (Including a salary of at least $455 per week)

4)       The regulations will effect significant changes with respect to the ability of an employer to make deductions from the pay of exempt employees without destroying their exempt status.  An employee must be paid on a “salary basis” in order to be “exempt”, and improper docking of pay may destroy the exemption. 

The Department of Labor estimates that these regulations will exempt approximately 100,000 currently nonexempt employees from overtime requirements.  The spread of these regulations necessitates a comprehensive evaluation by employers of their current categorizations of employees for the purposes of paying overtime and their practices regarding the payment of employees on a salary basis.  Some reclassification or revision of duties and responsibilities may be in order.  The implementation of an appropriate written policy regarding improper deductions and employee complaints concerning them is imperative to business.  For an unrevised copy of this article contact the Streetsboro Chamber of Commerce by calling 330-626-4769.

STREETSBORO'S FIRST FOREIGN-TRADE ZONE - NEOTEC (Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium announced that the Foreign-Trade Zones Board in Washington, D.C. has approved its application to establish two foreign-trade zone sites in Portage County, the county's first foreign-trade zone designation. 

-The two sites are among 9 new sites approved within Foreign-Trade Zone(FTZ) 181 with the recent application, including sites in Mahoning, Stark, Summit and Trumbull Counties.  FTZ 181, which is administered by NEOTEC, now encompasses 32 total sites and nearly 6,000 acres throughout Northeast Ohio, and is among the top 10 of more than 260 Foreign-trade zones in the U.S. in terms of activity.  Streetsboro's FTZ sites include the Interstate Commerce Center and the Frost Road Commerce Center.

The main objective of the Foreign-Trade Zone program is the creation and retention of jobs through increased export activity.  Companies use foreign trade zones to maintain the cost competitiveness of their U.S. based operations vis-à-vis their foreign-based competitors.  Zone status provides an opportunity to reduce certain operating costs associated with a U.S. location that are avoided when operating from a foreign site.  The FTZ 181 program in Northeast Ohio has enjoyed significant growth since 2001, expanding from 9 companies within zone boundaries to a projected 34 companies in 2005.  The growth during this time period represents $215 million in new capital investment with the creation and retention of 3,315 jobs - an acceptable performance considering Northeast Ohio and the nation were in the depths of a recession during most of this period.  The growth was a combination of attracting new companies and the expansion of existing companies.  With the economy recovering, the FTZ 181 program is positioned to make an even greater impact on job growth in Northeast Ohio.  For more information about FTZ 181, contact NEOTEC at 330-672-4080 or neotec@kent.edu.

Portage County Human Resource Association 2003 Wage Survey Summary available for downloading. Follow this Link   
 

Copyright © 2002 Streetsboro Area Chamber of Commerce

Last Modified: 11/07/05