MAHONING VALLEY Lawmakers press for Boeing incentives

A state official said slow and steady is the best way to court Boeing.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Congressmen Ted Strickland and Tim Ryan are concerned Ohio could miss out on landing a proposed Boeing Corp. plant by not offering incentives as soon as other states.
They joined with two other legislators in writing a letter to Gov. Bob Taft, urging him to offer incentives quickly.
Other states already are courting Boeing with generous incentives, including Washington, where Boeing's plane manufacturing is now based.
"We fear that Ohio could lose this opportunity if we fail to act now to offer an aggressive incentive package to Boeing," the letter says.
Signing the letter with Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, and Strickland, of Lisbon, D-6th, were Steve LaTourette of Madison, R-14th, and Sherrod Brown of Lorain, D-13th.
Vienna site
Area officials are proposing a site near the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna for the Boeing plant, which would produce a new passenger plane and employ up to 1,200 people.
State officials submitted the local site and locations in Columbus and Toledo to Boeing for consideration. Julie Michael Smith, the governor's economic development representative for the Mahoning Valley, said Ohio has chosen to follow Boeing's guidelines even though other states already have developed incentive packages.
Boeing and its selection consultant required only site information to be submitted last month, not financial incentives, she said.
Once the sites are evaluated, Boeing will begin talking about incentives, she said.
Bruce Johnson, the state's development director, met with Boeing officials and the consultant and is confident that Ohio is taking the proper steps, she said.
Enhancements
Incentives normally are enhancements for companies, not the determining factor in picking a location, she said.
Boeing first wants to know about such items as rail and air access, the available labor pool and the area's geography, she said.
Ohio is competing with more than 10 other states.
Washington officials have approved tax cuts and other incentives worth $3.2 billion over 20 years in an attempt to keep Boeing's plane manufacturing in that state.
The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber put together the local proposal because it handles economic development for Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Site search
Boeing hasn't committed to building the new plane but is conducting a nationwide site search in advance of the project being approved by its board.
It says it expects to select a site late this year or early next year. Plane assembly would start in 2005 with the first flight in 2007.
Boeing says the plane would use 15 percent to 20 percent less fuel than other large planes.
shilling@vindy.com