The Harvey County unemployment rate dropped as low as 2.8 percent in September. Recently, industry in the area has announced expansions and plans of having decent paying jobs, the kind that help pay mortgages on homes, if not support moderately priced rentals.
It’s no secret that housing, especially entry level housing for young professionals in the city, has been short. The City Office, in part, has tried to help alleviate the issues working with development companies to build moderately priced apartments.
Those apartments, such as Prairie Fire and Cottonwood Crossing, have filled up fast.
Looking at the influx of possibly hundreds of jobs in the area, Newton stands poised to whiff on its upcoming windfall.
All of our new employees are going to have nowhere to live.
Increased rooftops could be lifeblood to the city. Every house built means property taxes. It means residents living in the city, who are more likely to pot goods and services and pay sales tax.
It means more children, who are likely to use our schools and garner them additional state funding.
Should these people live elsewhere, we miss out on those things. They still drive down our roads. We still serve the business they work at, but somewhere else – perhaps Valley Center, Wichita or Park City — pick up benefits Newton has worked to help draw.
(Read more: Newton Now)