By HOLLY GASKILL
Wells County has joined several other counties and cities in northeast Indiana in efforts to attract remote workers to the region.
On Tuesday, the Wells County Commissioners voted 2-1 to partner with Make My Move for $15,000. Make My Move is an Indianapolis company that helps market places to remote workers with incentives like grants for purchasing a house.
The company has received funding through the Indiana Economic Development Commission and Northeast Indiana Strategic Development Commission, as well as partnerships with the cities of Huntington, New Haven and Angola, and Wabash and Kosciusko counties.
On Aug. 19, Vice President of Enterprise Sales Ben Ledo stated that the $15,000 would buy in the county for a two-year program to relocate 100 families to northeast Indiana. This was met with skepticism, and Commissioner Jeff Stringer asked Ledo to return with a more concrete plan for how it would benefit Wells County specifically.
Ledo cited success stories in South Bend on Tuesday, but Stringer still found these results unsatisfactory.
“I look at this as if I were going to do this for my business,” Stringer said. “Is it clear? Can I put an ROI (return on investment) to it? I’m not convinced there’s an ROI on it … Sounds like it might work, but I’m not going to put $15,000 on it.”
Commissioners Blake Gerber and Mike Vanover, however, were more receptive. The partnership was ultimately approved, with Gerber and Vanover in favor and Stringer against.
“I think it’s a small amount, for $15,000,” Gerber said.
“I’ve been a fan of it, in fairness,” Vanover added. “Commissioner Stringer hasn’t been to presentations you (Gerber) and I have been on … That being said, I believe in the program, and I would make a motion to invest $15,000 since it is a regional issue.”
Ledo advised that further expenses would only be the incentive cost as the county recruits new residents through the program.
holly@news-banner.com
