North Canton's State of the City and Schools Brings Big News Wednesday Night

Mayor  spent much of his State of the City address talking about what North Canton has done to bounce back after the Hoover Company shuttered its doors and the city’s income tax revenue plummeted.

But he ended it on an encouraging note with the announcement that one more company will move into the Hoover District next month, bringing with it about 250 jobs.

. That company is the Suarez Corp. Industries, which manufactures appliances like the EdenPURE heaters.

“Their manufacturing is in China,” Held said to a crowd of about 50 inside the North Canton Civic Center Wednesday night. “They decided to move that manufacturing back to Ohio.”

North Canton City Schools Superintendent Michael Gallina also spoke at , which combined the State of the City and the State of the Schools addresses.

Held said the 250 jobs could double within the year, and, “within the near future,” increase to 2,000 jobs.

Council President Jon Snyder attended the event and said council is excited about the addition of Suarez in the Hoover District, which brings the district up to about 800 total jobs.

“I think the council is tickled and supports the mayor in his economic development efforts,” Snyder said.

The city has taken many steps to cut its costs since 2008, when Hoover’s labor agreement expired and the city lost 2,400 jobs and 23 percent of its revenue, he said.

“Hoover was our past. Hoover was our present. And Hoover was not going to be a part of our future,” Held said. “So we had to make some really tough decisions.”

Some of those decisions included cross-training employees and reducing the number of employees. The city went from 116 full-time employees in 2005 to 91 in 2011, saving $1.5 million annually. And, when faced with retirements, the city has often decided to make do by not replacing those retired employees. 

For instance, Economic Development Director Eric Bowles now serves as zoning inspector with no extra pay, which saves the city $75,000 a year.

“That’s the equivalent of about 300 new jobs to the Hoover facility, in just that one move,” Held said.

He remained optimistic about North Canton’s future, comparing the city’s 2011 projected deficit in the general fund ($1 million) to what a state audit had projected a few years back ($5.1 million).

“We are succeeding,” Held said.

North Canton City Schools

Gallina updated the audience Wednesday night on the district’s accomplishments as well as its struggles through the past year.

Some of the challenges included dealing with the $8 billion hole in the state budget; , but for maintaining the current level of service; and being on guard for news on .

About accomplishments, Gallina said the district will learn in the fall if it earns the distinction of being a  recipient. That means the school stood out among all Ohio schools and joins 13 others in applying for the award.

He also acknowledged the Advanced Placement classes at  and the award the school won for offering 17 AP courses and administering about 580 AP tests a year.

Students who participate in varsity girls' and boys' basketball as well as soccer also got some recognition. Gallina said the teams’ GPAs were among the highest in the state.

“That’s a community honor as well as something that goes on every day during the bell schedule.”