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State Committee Hears from Local Business Leaders

Madison County business leaders were among those testifying during the first meeting of the state’s economic study committee, which met Wednesday at the Flagship Enterprise Center.

State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Lafayette — who co-chairs the committee with Rep. Scott Reske, D-Pendleton — said they were going to have the majority of the meetings outside of the Statehouse in order to meet with people from a diverse set of backgrounds.

“We want to not only look where we have been, but we also want to look forward as the economy recovers,” Hershman said.

Reske stressed that in bringing the topic of economic development to the table that they didn’t want things to be partisan or political. The No. 1 goal, he said, is good economic development, hoping that the state can be the best in the nation.

The daylong hearing included testimony from Pete Bitar, owner of Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems; committee member Mitch Roob, secretary of commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.; and John Waters, president and CEO of Bright Automotive. Other community and business leaders also testified.

Bitar said Madison County residents and businesses have been in a recession for 15 years and were prepared for what the rest of the country has been reeling from in recent times.

“The business people in this community are more resilient,” he said. “We’ve learned to do business in a more economical manner, to keep the bottom line low.”

Bitar said the state and its businesses need to do a better job to utilize the resources they already have on hand.

“We as a state need to decide, ‘How do we take what we have and turn it into what’s coming in the shortest path possible?’” Bitar said. “As we chart our future we need to look to our past.”

He said the community should focus on innovation and become an “idea society.”

Roob said the state is very competitive with other states. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Indiana is tied for second in the country for private sector job growth. And the state’s low incentives — about $8,638 per job — are enough to win businesses, Roob said. That number is down from $37,652 in 2004.

The state also is one of only nine states with a top bond rating from all three major credit rating agencies.

Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle@heraldbulletin.com.