Good news for Columbus
DSCC - and its 6,100 jobs - spared by Pentagon
Tony Goins
Business First
Defense Supply Center Columbus has escaped the Pentagon's axe and will even gain workers, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday.
The base will pick up about 1,758 jobs from other locations, according to a list released by the department.
"This is a big victory for our community that came together in an unprecedented campaign to save 6,100 jobs," Ty Marsh, president and CEO of the Columbus Chamber, said in a statement.
Whitehall Mayor Lynn Ochsendorf called Friday a "glorious day."
"The base has been doing its mission in an award-winning fashion, and we can't be happier than to have that recognized in Washington," Ochsendorf said.
DSCC's commander, Rear Adm. Linda Bird, said the base will get "new missions" and "realignment gains."
"We are grateful for the strong support the local community has provided to DSCC and all the installation missions and employees," Bird said in a press release.
The base, located in east Columbus and Whitehall, was in jeopardy as the Defense Department conducted its Base Realignment and Closure process. The department planned to close as many as 25 percent of its bases to save money and realign itself for today's military challenges.
The chamber spearheaded an effort to save DSCC known as Team DSCC. The group includes the cities of Whitehall and Columbus, the state of Ohio, and government officials from the local to the federal levels. It raised more than $1 million for lobbying.
Ochsendorf appreciated the community effort to save DSCC. The loss of DSCC would have been "devastating" to Whitehall, she said. Income taxes from DSCC workers account for about 47 percent of Whitehall's $19 million budget, Ochsendorf said.
Overall, DSCC's payroll totals $373 million annually and generates approximately $21.6 million in state and city taxes.
But DSCC isn't completely out of the woods yet, Bird said.
Friday's list represents the recommendations of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and it will now go to a Base Realignment and Closure commission. The commission will make its changes, then send it to President Bush, who will submit it to Congress. Changes could come at any point in that process.
DSCC includes three main parts:
1 - An office of the Defense Logistics Agency, which coordinates the flow of supplies and spare parts for the military. The Columbus office employs 3,275 and coordinates about 32 percent of the Defense Department's supplies.
2 - The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which provides accounting services such as payments to military contractors. It employs 2,359.
3 - The Defense Information Systems Agency, which provides information technology support for the military. It employs 414.
DSCC could not confirm where the additional employees will come from. The department plans to close a Defense Finance and Accounting Service installation in Dayton with 230 jobs and cut 1,028 jobs from a Defense Finance and Accounting Service site in Cleveland, however.
(sorry Cleveland - at least the jobs are staying in state)
Although DSCC was spared, several other local installations will see cuts. The department plans to close Army National Guard Reserve centers in Westerville and Whitehall, costing 37 jobs. It will cut four workers from an Army National Guard post at Rickenbacker International Airport, and add a job to the Rickenbacker Air Guard station.
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2005/05/09/daily33.html?jst=b_ln_hl
