Mayor: Jobs, Lean Government Will Be Key to North Canton's Success

Still on the rebound from losing the Hoover Company in 2008, the city of North Canton has focused its attention on maintaining a lean government and, of course, building up the Hoover District with more jobs.

Mayor David Held went over those points and more at Wednesday night's State of the City Address inside 's Barrette Business & Community Center.

Although the loss of the Hoover Company was a massive blow to the city, Held was unwavering in his message: North Canton is on its way back up.

And that, he said, is because of the hard work of those working in the city.

"It's not just one person; it's the state, it's the grants, it's the economic development director. It's the engineer and our city administrator. There are so many different stories where people came together when the odds were just completely against us. 

But we did it. We brought it all together and we made it work."

A LEANER GOVERNMENT

The Hoover Company’s labor agreement expired in 2008 and the city lost 2,400 jobs and 23 percent of its revenue, Held said. Forced to cut its costs, the city eliminated several city positions, going from 116 full-time employees to 96 now, saving $1.5 million annually.

Held reported at the city was down to 91 employees. This year he said that number was too low and affected the quality of services in the city.

Another key to saving the city money is reorganizing departments. For instance, the police department underwent restructuring. In January of 2011, it had six lieutenants. It now has one lieutenant and five sergeants.

"It's a cost savings of 9 percent on those positions," Held said.

The chief dispatcher position also was changed to a lead dispatcher position, saving the city $4,000.

HOOVER DISTRICT JOBS

Last year's State of the City brought news that the Hoover District had 575 new jobs.

This year's number? 1,250.

"These jobs did not exist in the city of North Canton as of 2010," Held said.

Here's a rundown of what jobs are at the Hoover District right now:

AVOIDING A $1 MILLION DEFICIT

In 2008, North Canton City Council contracted with the State Auditor to look at city operations and determine strengths and weaknesses compared to other cities.

"It was really the best move we ever made," Held said of the audit. "We were in our weakest position."

The final report came out in 2009 and they projected that the city would be at a deficit of almost $250,000 in 2009. And, based on the path the city was on, in 2010 the deficit would be more than $1 million. That would grow in 2011 to a $1.2 million deficit, the auditor's office said.

The city didn't see a deficit in the coming years, though. Once jobs started coming back to the city, it saw a surplus of close to $1 million in 2010 and a surplus of $2.5 million in 2011.

"So I think that really illustrates when we bring people together, when we start working with individuals that have a heart to serve others and do what's right for the community, that brings success," Held said.

INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY FORUM

Held said the city is in the process of applying to be part of the Intelligent Community Forum and have the designation as an Intelligent Community. 

That means the city would be a part of a global think tank that focuses on economic and social development. The ICF brings together business, government and education.

( that it would be the first ICF Institute in the area of education.)

Held pointed to Dublin, Ohio, as a success story, saying the city brought in more than 1,000 new jobs based on their designation as an Intelligent Community.

Interested in seeing the slideshow for the State of the City Address? Check out the PDFs section of this update.