Regional Cities Initiative funding may rely on a hearing taking place this week at the Indiana statehouse.
A committee formed by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation selected three plans recommended to the Governor which spans three regions of the state. The goal is to attract and retain young and skilled workers in Indiana.
The Michiana Partnership has been spearheading the efforts in the North Central Region of the state. CEO Regina Emberton says fully funding that plan may rely on Senate Bill 302.
“At this point, just based on the enormous amount of collaboration that we’ve seen happening here in North Central Indiana; but really around the state, and the momentum that’s been established, I’m pretty optimistic and very confident that the governor and the state legislators will really move that forward and fully fund all three of the grants they had awarded in December,” says Emberton.
The bill is expected to be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee will consider the language on Wednesday. House Speaker Brian Bosma has publicly alluded to the fact that it may not have sufficient support for passage. Should the bill fail in committee, it may mean grant funds awarded in December of 2015 are at risk of going unfunded.
For now, the North Central region is proceeding as planned for the Regional Cities program and the local match pledges for the various projects.
Emberton says communication with the state is important.
“We’re just going through the process and reaching out to our legislators to continue to let them know how important this is and how much it’s impacted both economic development and our regional collaboration efforts here in North Central Indiana,” says Emberton.
At this time, the Michiana Partnership is not anticipating a hold-up of funding for the project. The bill has already seen passage in the Indiana Senate, but must first clear a committee hurdle in the House.
The North Central Region, including Marshall, St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties were among those awarded Regional Cities grant funds in 2015.
