Economic planning offices closed due to budget

Business Today

Seven regional economic development offices across the state, including Southeast Missouri's office in Dexter, closed on June 3. They represent more casualties of the state's biggest budget crisis in more than two decades.

"This is not a choice we wanted to make," said Missouri Department of Economic Development spokesman Jim Grebing. "This is one of the unfortunate realities of Missouri's general revenue shortfall."

In 1995, the regional offices were set up in the state's outlying areas to help create new jobs and assist businesses in coming up with capital to expand or relocate.

But Grebing said something had to give when the department learned its budget would be slashed by more than $20 million next year.

The closings are expected to save the state $1 million in personnel costs, eliminating 25 positions in the offices in Dexter, Trenton, Moberly, Houston, Springfield, St. Louis and Kansas City.

However, most of those people -- including Dexter's project manager, Mike Seabaugh -- have been shifted into other openings that will send them back to Jefferson City, Grebing said.

Those people will fill unfilled positions, Grebing said, that were in the department's budget.

In 2001, the Dexter office, which served 19 Southeast Missouri counties, helped with 17 projects, which represented 1,628 new jobs and $133 million in private investment.

So far this year, the office worked on six projects, assisting in $44 million in investment and helping create 575 new jobs, according to state figures.

The Dexter-based office recruited businesses to the area, such as Renaissance Aircraft in Cape Girardeau. It assisted BioKyowa Inc. to attain governmental permits for a $50 million expansion. It has helped businesses find buildings, attain tax credits and get job training.

Grebing emphasized that the services that the regional offices provided are not being eliminated. He said they are reorganizing to determine how those services will be administered.