DevelopOhio

The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) is up and running, ready to go out into the local business community to start making contacts and building a presence, the Springfield News-Sun reports. CEP has moved into new office space in downtown Urbana and has held its first meeting, and now “is starting to set some early goals before year’s end,” according to the article. Those goals include introducing themselves “to the community and business and industry leaders” to “let them know who we are, what we are and what we’d like to do to help them be more successful.” The group plans to improve its website and “organize available local properties which can be marketed to companies looking to expand or move to the area,” CEP board member Jill O’Neal said in the article. While the city of Urbana “has provided much of the funding for economic development in the region since the recession,” now private businesses, the county and villages will also contribute; Urbana and the county will each contribute about $50,000 per year, while companies including DP&L and Pioneer Electric have pledged “as much as $15,000 each to help fund the group.”