Team effort gets funds for 125 jobs

By D.A. WILKINSON

wilkinson@vindy.com

LISBON

Columbiana County will get money for a small job-creation program that state officials initially did not fund.

Carol Bretz, the executive director of the Community Action Agency of Columbiana County, and Larry Kosiba, who works for the Salem Area Industrial Development Corp., a private group revived by Salem-area business and community leaders as a public-private partnership to spur economic development, explained the situation to the county commissioners.

Bretz said the CAA had tried to get funds to create about 125 jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But the plan was rejected by the Ohio Department of Development, in charge of allocating federal stimulus funds.

Larry Kosiba, SAIDC executive director, was working toward the same job-creation goal. Bretz said she discovered Kosiba was about 18 months ahead of her in terms of seeking funding for local jobs.

The two agencies joined forces and resubmitted the application for funding. ODOD then approved a program under which SAIDC will use the $275,000 in stimulus money to pay a portion or all of the wages — from $7.35 up to $20 an hour — for new workers hired by companies in the county.

Kosiba said he expects the money will be enough to fund 20 to 25 jobs between now and the end of September.

Under Kosiba’s plan, new workers would take care of regular duties at the businesses. That will allow the business owners to get out and make more connections that would lead to increased sales.