Ballard: Indy Secured Record Jobs, Investment In 2010
1.6.11

Nearly $1 Billion In Investment Poured Into City, Mayor Says
WRTV

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said the city set new records for job commitments and capital investment in 2010.
More than 8,700 new jobs were promised to Indianapolis, spread among 73 companies, along with $934 million in investment, both records, Ballard said.
"Our aggressive pursuit of new jobs is paying off," Ballard said. "We exceeded the total number of new job commitments secured from 2003 through 2005 combined."
Of the jobs promised to the city, Ballard said 3,761 are in the life sciences industry, a sector the mayor and Gov. Mitch Daniels have repeatedly said are critical to the state's growth potential.
The average wage of the promised jobs is $23.81 an hour, up from $21.48 in 2009, officials said.
The companies that said they plan to bring new jobs to Indianapolis include Clarian Health, Dow AgroSciences, Exact Target, Hat World, Dallara and many others.
"Companies overwhelmingly chose Indianapolis as the place to hire new works and invest capital," said Scott Miller, CEO of Develop Indy.
A promise of new jobs is far from a guarantee, however. In previous years, companies that promised jobs in Indianapolis and in other parts of the state sometimes failed to deliver on those promises, particularly during the recession.
Marion County Democrats pointed out that the number of jobless Hoosiers is up, despite the promise of new jobs.
"Unemployment has more than doubled under his (Ballard's) watch and there is 35,000 people in Marion County looking for work and can't find any," said Executive Director Adam Kirsch. "It's 8,000 jobs commitments that may or may not come on line, and they certainly are not available right now."
Ballard said he acknowledges that not all jobs promised pan out, but he said his administration does whatever it can to make sure that the companies are held responsible.
"We actually check on them and we make sure they're doing what they need to be doing," he said. "As you know, one company was not able to do that and we went back and got some money back from them. We do lose some on the back end, no question… but we're doing better than most cities."
Read: Mayor's Jobs Report
http://www.theindychannel.com/money/26375818/detail.html