With an eye to attracting large businesses and new jobs, Ottawa County
officials may ask the federal government to reclassify the county as
part of the Grand Rapids metro area. Proponents say that the higher
population numbers of the combined areas could place the region's labor
market in the global spotlight.
According to excerpts from the story:
Ottawa County officials are debating
whether they should petition the U.S. Census Bureau to move the county
back into the metro Grand Rapids statistical area, a change they say
could attract potential employers interested in regions with larger
populations.
With the 2010 Census quickly approaching, the
county planning commission voted 5-1 recently to ask the county board
to support the idea of rejoining the Grand Rapids-Wyoming Metropolitan
Statistical Area.
The commission said the change would more
accurately reflect the “size of the area’s labor market, strength of
its supplier base, depth of its service sector and the purchasing power
of its residents.”
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