KEDCO: With Economic Growth Comes New Challenges
WARSAW — Local economic experts are pointing to some negative results stemming from a booming economy as the job numbers increase along with local populations.
George Robertson, president of the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation reported this week that Kosciusko County’s number of employed workers has increased by about 4,000 since 2010.
“Some fast growth communities end up with new problems,” Robertson said. “This economic growth means an increase in people, retail activity and local government revenues — all the benefits of economic development.
However, the flip side of the coin calls for solutions to issues in terms of where the new influx of workers will hang their hats at the end of the workday.
“We now have a shortage of affordable and workforce housing, which is KEDCo’s new priority,” said Robertson. “We will be working with the city and towns on developing more housing in order to retain our young people and attract new employees for our employers.”
Robertson said the population growth occurred over most of the county and particularly in Warsaw, which grew by 8.6 percent. Total population increased to 79,206, a 2.4 percent increase, Robertson reported.
Robertson said that while growth deemed too rapid can cause severe negative consequences, Kosciusko County’s expansion seems manageable.
“Ours is a very moderate growth and we could certainly use more, particularly in our towns,” he said. “In interviewing millennials, it is surprising how many would prefer a small town near Warsaw. The downside of not doing it [providing more housing] is very negative — loss of young people, inability to sustain our existing companies, etc. Many of our towns are dependent on retirees, and as a baby boomer, we will be a certainly smaller part of the population. Many rural counties in Indiana are already seeing a downward spiral with deaths outnumbering births, and without the kind of great job base we have, nor a reason for young people to move in or stay.”