by CHRIS GRAYObserver Staff Writer

A renowned economisthas indicated that theroad to economic recoverymay be jagged, but it is onthe way to recovery.

Dr. Jim Jacobs, MacombCommunity College presi-dent and economist, gavehis annual economic fore-cast for both the countyand country on Jan. 20.

Despite negative factorssuch as unemploymentover 12 percent in MacombCounty, Jacobs was opti-mistic about recovery, say-ing the nation is in whathe dubbed a “saw-toothrecovery.”

“It’s a recovery that pro-ceeds in fits and starts,that lurches forward, thatreceives some good newsand some bad news,” hesaid. “Living in this uncer-tain period is going to benow a new way of life bothfor most of us in the Unit-ed States and certainly forMacomb County.”

Overall, he saidMacomb County is goingto do better than thenational economy in termsof growth and recovery,with unemployment possi-bly falling below 10 per-cent.

He said the north end ofthe county will have agood impact in this saw-tooth recovery, such asdefense suppliers movingtheir operations into thearea.

For those involved infarming, he said the goodnews is that there will begrowth in commodity

prices, such as for soy-beans and corn.

The challenge for thenorth end, however, isgoing to be boosting hous-ing and development.

“I don’t think that isgoing to come along,” hesaid.

One of the high pointsfor the state and county isgrowth of the auto indus-try. Over $1 billion in newinvestments will be madeby Chrysler and Ford inMacomb County, saidJacobs.

He said over 67,000 jobsin the auto industry willcome from improved sales,and 22,000 new manufac-turing jobs will develop inthe next year for Michi-gan.

“As a result of thegrowth of the auto indus-try and the re-growth ofmanufacturing as a whole,the state is well-positionedin terms of economicrecovery,” he said.

He said continuedgrowth in the defense sec-tor will improve the coun-ty’s economy, as over 60percent of defense con-tracts awarded to firms inMichigan are awarded tofirms in Macomb County.

Health care expansionsis also expected to increasejobs by 500,000 in the nexttwo decades.

Even with this goodnews, there were still indi-cations of decline. Manu-facturing, which has thehighest number of privatesector jobs, has decreasedfrom 106,415 to 51,526between 2000 to 2010.

Unemployment has

dropped to 12.4 percent,but Jacobs said a part ofthe dip has resulted frompeople exiting the labormarket.

The impact of unem-ployment was shown by

the city of SterlingHeights, which had thesteepest income decline inthe entire nation between2000 and 2009 of citieswith a population of65,000 and above.

“What we’re starting tosee is a disappearing mid-dle class in Macomb Coun-ty,” he said.

Jacobs also pointed outa lack of new housing per-mits as well as declining

tax assessments for allcommunities, such as a 9.1percent loss for ArmadaTownship and a 2.6 per-cent loss in WashingtonTownship.

“Prices in housing arebeginning to bottom out,”he said.

To move forward, hesaid the county will haveto look at focusing on itscurrent businesses, devel-oping local infrastructurefor transportation andchild care and the decen-tralization of services.

The latter of these canbe seen in examples suchas Bruce and Armadatownships joining togetherto bring water to theirindustrial areas.

Like last year, Jacobssaid one of the wildcardsin looking at the economyis the new county execu-tive position.

“We not only have acentral place to representMacomb County, but thatcounty executive has theability to brand us in theregion and the communityas a major play in our eco-nomic future,” he said.

County Executive MarkHackel said the presenta-tion was extremely inform-ative, and said a messagehe took was that all thecounty’s residents need tocontribute to the recovery.

“Eighty-five percent ofour economic base is smallbusiness, and we need tore-invest in that smallbusiness,” he said. “Weneed to do that more as aregional cooperativeeffort.”

by KIMBERLYSCHERER

Observer Special Writer

To send Assistant FireChief John Clark off prop-erly, Washington Townshipfirefighters gathered intheir Class A uniforms fora formal mustering out atthe township’s Board ofTrustees meeting Jan. 19.

Clark has left the town-ship for the opportunity tobe Delta Township’s firechief.

“With his talent forwriting grants, his expert-ise in technology and histireless drive, he helpedcatapult this departmentforward,” said Chief DavePoterek.

With Clark’s help,Poterek said the depart-ment was able to put lap-tops in every vehicle, pur-

chase a new heavy rescuevehicle, two ambulances,additional extricationtools, revamp its pager sys-tem and with the help of avideo conference grant,both stations can commu-nicate between each other.

“His biggest legacy willbe the $1.5 million hebrought in to build our

new fire station,” Potereksaid, adding that Clarkalso volunteered to be theproject manager. “He didan awesome job.”

“This is truly the firehouse that John Clarkbuilt,” he said.

Supervisor Dan O’Learysaid he never would haveimagined they could haveaccomplished all that theydid in only two years andsaid Clark’s hard, behind-the-scenes work helpedthem get there.

“In the short time he’sbeen here, he’s had a hugeimpact on the township,”O’Leary said.

The accolades didn’t goto Clark’s head.

“I couldn’t have done itwithout the team we’ve got— it’s not just one person,”Clark said.

SectionBB

ROMEO, MICHIGAN 48065—WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2011

THE ROAD TO RECOV-ERY. Above, Dr. Jim Jacobs,economist and president ofMacomb Community Col-lege, speaks on howMacomb County’s economyis still downtrodden, butthere are reasons to be opti-mistic about its recovery in2011. At right, County Exec-utive Mark Hackel listens asJacobs describes how man-ufacturing expansions willaffect the county.

(Observer photosby Chris Gray)

Above, a formal mustering out ceremony was held in honor of Assistant Fire ChiefJohn Clark. At left, Washington Township Fire Chief Dave Poterek bids outgoing

Assistant Fire Chief John Clark farewell during a Jan. 19 Board of Trustees meeting.(Observer photos by Kim Scherer)

Formal farewell given to WT Asst. Chief John Clark

Economic forecast shows county’s slow recoveryEconomist predicts Macomb County will recover faster than nation

On Jan. 18, the MacombCommunity College Boardof Trustees elected newofficers and held theswearing-in ceremony fortwo trustees re-elected tothe seven-person board inthe November 2010 elec-tion.

Board members electedas officers were: ChairJames F. Kelly, Eastpointe;Vice Chair ChristineBonkowski, Clinton Town-ship; Secretary ConnieBolanowski, WashingtonTownship and TreasurerNancy Falcone, Washing-ton Township.

Kelly and Bonkowskiwere sworn in to beginnew six-year terms on theboard by Macomb Countychief deputy clerk ToddSchmitz.

Kelly was elected toserve as the board’s chair-person and has been amember of the board since2005. A former mayor andcity council member forthe City of Eastpointe,Kelly is the president andCEO of Travelers Aid Soci-ety.

Bonkowski, who waselected to serve as thevice-chair, was first electedto the board in 1984. Shepreviously served six yearsas the board chair and hasalso held the positions ofsecretary and treasurer ofthe board.

Bolanowski was re-elected as the board’s sec-retary, a position she hasheld since 2003. She is aretired office administra-tor and legal secretarywho is involved with anumber of communityorganizations and charita-ble activities, including theStarkweather Art and Cul-tural Society, theRochester SymphonyOrchestra, Jenny LindClub of Michigan, Assis-tance League of SoutheastMichigan and as a hospitalvolunteer.

Falcone was elected toserve as the board’s treas-urer. She served as theboard chair from 2005-2010 and has been a mem-ber of the board since2003. She is a formerMichigan Department of

State employee and is cur-rently on the Region Onestaff of the InternationalUAW, serving in a dualassignment as a communi-ty action program repre-sentative and a labor rep-resentative. She is also onthe board of directors forthe Macomb/ St. ClairWorkforce DevelopmentBoard.

Serving as trustees onthe board are RoseanneDiMaria, Eastpointe;Frank DeSantis, SterlingHeights, and JosephDeSantis, SterlingHeights.

The Macomb Communi-ty College’s Board ofTrustees is composed ofseven members who areselected through a nonpar-tisan, countywide electionand serve six-year termswithout compensation. Theboard approves budgets,develops policies in accor-dance with educationalneeds, and serves as adirect link between thecollege and the communi-ty.

MCC trustees sworn in, board appoints officers

NEWLY ELECTED. The Macomb Commu-nity College Board of Trustees elected newofficers at the board’s Jan. 18 meeting. JimKelly, center, will serve as the board’s chairfor the next two years. Christine Bonkowski,

left, will serve as the vice-chair. ConnieBolanowski will serve as the board secre-tary. Not pictured is the board’s new treasur-er, Nancy Falcone.

(Photo courtesy of Dan Heaton)