Helping communities create a vibrant economic ecosystem that supports workers and businesses
Community Economics & Workforce Development
Community Economics & Workforce DevelopmentHelping communities create a vibrant economic ecosystem that supports workers and businesses
The Federal Reserve’s press release from Sept. 18 said it would “lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage...
How do we know if a recession has started? Sometimes it’s obvious. In March 2020 during the pandemic emergency, weekly applications for...
In fiscal 2024, revenues were 1.4 percent higher than in 2023. That’s much slower growth than the 9.3 percent annual average from the past...
Indiana voters elected Otis Bowen as Governor in 1972 on a pledge of “visible, lasting and substantial” property tax relief. The slogan...
Social Security trustees just published their annual report about the program’s finances. They predict that the combined $2.8 trillion...
It was printed in bold letters on the front of the envelope. “Open Immediately. Property Tax Notice Enclosed.” It was the annual...
People use tools to make goods and services, which other people buy. Gross domestic product is our measure of the value of goods and services. It...
Last year Indiana homeowners were hit with property tax bill increases averaging 17 percent, an extraordinary increase. Will it happen again in...
The memo was posted at the end of December, on the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance website. It announced the base rate for farmland...
Since then inflation has come down a lot. As of November 2023, prices were 3.1 percent higher than a year before. That’s good news.
As we enter the 'holiday season,' I encourage you to reflect on how you can make a positive difference in the lives of those who need...
The second installment for 2023 property taxes was due earlier this month. If you’re a homeowner, either you sent a check to your county...
Election Day is coming up, and 12 Indiana school districts have put property tax referendums on the ballot. Voters who own homes will want to know,...
Indiana has an individual income tax to help pay for state services. Indiana raises about $8 billion a year from its state income tax, which is 36%...
The 12-month inflation rate began to rise in early 2021 and peaked at 8.9 percent in June 2022. Since then it’s fallen to 3.3 percent. Not so...
The Indiana fiscal new year is upon us, having begun on July 1. The big New Year’s celebration happened on July 13, with the...
Inflation is coming down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which measures the Consumer Price Index, reported the 12-month inflation rate for May at...
Indiana homeowner tax bills increased 17 percent on average this year, the largest increase in years. Other property owners saw big increases too....
The state revenue forecast upped its prediction of revenues for the rest of this fiscal year and the coming biennium, 2023-25, by $1.5 billion over...
Indiana county treasurers soon will mail property tax bills to owners of homes, rental housing, farmland, and businesses. Most will see big...
Utilities are building a lot of solar energy projects in Indiana. Fields of solar panels will become a common part of our landscape. This may help...
Farmland assessments for property taxes are going up. So are home, rental housing and business assessments. Property tax misery has a lot of...
Thursday, December 15, was a much-anticipated day at the Indiana Statehouse. It was Revenue Forecast Day, when the General Assembly heard the...
The holidays are here. Time for good cheer and happy thoughts, even if candy canes and sugar plums cost 7.8 percent more this year than last.
Inflation has been so low for so long that we hardly noticed them. Now inflation is the highest it’s been in 40 years, and COLAs are in the...
The Federal Reserve is serious about battling inflation. They’ve raised their policy interest rate from near zero in February to an average...
Is this a recession? Real gross domestic product has dropped for two straight quarters. Real GDP is our measure of goods and services produced,...
The Purdue Extension Digital Ready program is designed to help small businesses learn to leverage online tools and services to grow their business....
Mid-July is number-cruncher nirvana if you follow the Indiana state budget. That’s when the State Budget Agency releases its closeout for the...
Every year about this time homeowners receive a Form 11 from their county assessor. It’s the notice of assessment of land and structures, and...
Here’s one way to think about property taxes: The local government sets its budget, subtracts all other tax revenue, and raises the remainder...
Over the past several months, my column has provided an overview of all five of the Business Retention & Expansion Program (BR&E) modules...
In 2017, Extension Community Development and the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) sought a way to help Indiana small businesses...
Ribbon cuttings with large gold scissors often celebrate the wins of communities as businesses open. What steps are taken as companies add...
Driving across dusty country roads, we often find tattered traffic signs, including old detour signs that invite us to create a new path or stay on...
The inflation rate was 7.5 percent from January 2021 to January 2022, the highest inflation in 40 years. It arrived suddenly and unexpectedly. A...
What does it mean to live and belong to a community? By definition, belonging to a community requires an affinity for that community and having the...
Knock! Knock! The wrapping of knuckles on the large, dark door frame bellows down the corridor of the distillery. The distillery marks the history...
The property tax is the biggest source of tax revenue for most Indiana local governments, and they were worried about the effect of the COVID...
Three-legged stools are important concepts in economic development. Communities need attraction, retention and expansion by their companies so that...
America is scattered with small companies, and they compose the culture that defines our communities. A business retention and expansion program is...
When it comes to business success, focusing on survival often trumps focusing on mission and vision. However, research reminds us that...
Where is our economy going? Let’s ask some folks whose job it is to forecast the future of the U.S. economy. How about looking at three...
Over the course of time, most companies develop and establish a set of priorities – either intentionally or unintentionally – from...
Businesses have encouraged employees to take a part in their own health for decades. As society has gradually become more health-conscious,...
Business owners in 2021 have witnessed many aspects of operations change over the past 24 months. The small business space is always changing, but...
Driven by the work ethic her mother instilled in her, Sherri Bryant established Team Bryant six years ago when she moved to Indianapolis. She...
Before the pandemic, a digital media company in Denver with 100 employees, was embarking on an expansion to double its size. On March 11, 2020,...
The Pandemic has required instrumental and pivotal business adjustments in the economic landscape of companies. Traditional norms have been...
COVID-era technology allows workers to accept positions virtually anywhere, and anywhere virtually. For that reason, individuals can choose...
As you reflect on 2020 and embark on 2021, consider how you relate to others. How often have you judged an experience or a situation only to arrive...
Regardless of what industry you are in, the prevailing question now is: How can your company survive the COVID-19 “new normal” we are...
We have always heard that change is good and change brings about new ideas. What happens when an event, business or community fail to change? When...
Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) and Purdue Extension – Community Development (CDEXT) want to help small businesses shift toward...
In the midst of the pandemic, economic environments have shifted significantly. Competitiveness has increased tenfold, businesses are examining how...
History has a way of repeating itself. Within the world of fashion, mullets have reappeared in adolescents. Men are wearing shorter, tighter shorts...
On April 30, when Lt. Governor Crouch announced that 61 communities had received COVID-19 response funds, Blackford County was among them because...
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, companies and communities have been running extremely lean on virtually every front, especially in the human...
This article contains a list of resources for Indiana small businesses to support economic retention and recovery related to the COVID-19...
Purdue Extension provided a free workshop for local leaders to learn about Indiana’s property tax system and explore trends in local and...
Lake County Extension collaborated with the Lake County Clerk’s office and the Board of Elections & Registration to present the...
The American Citizen Planner program, which provides training in core competencies for public planning officials, is now being offered in Indiana...
As globalization continues to chug along and the digital age continues to take hold, communities in Indiana need to adapt in order to remain...
Purdue Extension Community Development (CD) and the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) is ecstatic to announce the release of our...
Workforce development – a commonly tossed around buzz word – but what exactly is it and what does it look like here in Indiana? For...
As 2019 comes to a close, the Extension Community Development team wishes you a new year filled with health, happiness and spectacular success....
Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center published a report commissioned by Amazon looking at the digital...
So often my travels leave me weaving alongside desolate country roads that are sparsely populated and towns that are blighted with empty, dusty...
Purdue Extension has offices in all ninety-two counties in Indiana. Through these offices, our educators are able to spend their workdays (and live...
On September 24, 2019, Purdue Extension Community Development educator, Amanda Galloway, and Tippecanoe County Clerk, Julie Roush, presented to...
In the last ten years, Indianapolis has embarked on a positive economic path with initiatives such as the “quality of life” plans,...
Raise your hand if you have attended any business meeting that you roll your eyes and think that the meeting is too long? So often, the agenda and...
In a world where we are constantly asked to have more things completed, assigned more tasks and given more responsibilities, it seems there is a...
Conversations move life forward. They can also stop things from moving forward. Relationships begin and end on conversations. Teams are formed and...
In March of 2015, Purdue Extension Floyd County started offering beginning beekeeping classes. These first classes were met with much enthusiasm!...
Three graduates of the Community Economics and Leadership Program (CELP) recently utilized the education they received through the four-month...
In the scope of society, we have multiple branches of communication. The facets we see depend on our generation, tastes and preferences and where...
Educate, validate, and elevate our employees so they can be the best version of themselves, help them in this regard to identify opportunities for...
Family firms comprise 80-90% of all business enterprises and range from mom-and-pop stores to corporate giants. Family businesses are an important...
Former professor Dr. David Birch of MIT found that up to 80% of job growth in any community is generated by the businesses already located there...
How do communities change? The answer is quite easy. Change is implemented through attitude. Although the answer is easy, getting to that answer is...
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled internet retailers can be required to collect sales taxes, even in areas where they have no physical presence....
Michael Wilcox, Assistant Program Leader for Purdue Extension Community Development, was the May 10 guest speaker for the Community Economics and...
The building goes dark, the manager locks the door for the last time, brown paper cascades down windows that once held signs of sales and...
Local government finance is complex and has become even more so since the implementation of the property tax caps in 2008. In 2016, taxpayers...
‘Leader’ is defined as a person to guide a way by going in advance. Leadership is an important function of management, which helps to...
Whether you are an entrepreneur, want to be one or not, we have all had those days of splitting headaches, not enough hours in the day and when the...
Recently I had the opportunity to join in on an Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) Listening Session in Sullivan. The information shared...
Wired’s article, “Redefining ‘Broadband’ Could Slow Rollout In Rural Areas’, utilized remarks from our own Roberto...
In a globally connected world, access to the internet can link people to a variety of resources that can be of value in their daily living, such as...
Growth in business is a challenge for many companies and realizing constraints is the first step in the process. For many business owners, the...
That’s the message that Rushville and Rush County are championing with the launching of the community’s own entrepreneurial website....
Hiring employees from various backgrounds, cultures and experiences leads to workplace diversity. The vast majority of employers view diversity as...
Main Street corridors and county lines no longer bound society. The geographic boundaries of business expand nationally and globally for many small...
Small businesses are the primary driver of job growth in Indiana. In fact, existing second stage businesses generated 36% of all new jobs in...
Did you know that half of all businesses in Indiana are small businesses? These companies are the economic drivers of the local economy. Typically,...
The story highlighted a key goal of the local HCI team, which is to share the story of the community’s rich history and local assets. The...
USDA Rural Development (RD) State Director Philip G. Lehmkuhler today announced the designation of a new North Central Indiana region for the next...
In January 2015, Purdue’s Community Development Educators were trained by Ohio State University to implement their comprehensive,...
Property taxes in Indiana are paid in two installments, due May 10 and November 10 of each year. We are fast approaching the due date for the...