Nov. 8--POSTVILLE -- Postville city leaders, residents and business owners agree the community's economy has hit bottom. What isn't clear is how fast and how far the recovery will go.

An immigration raid in May 2008 shut down kosher meat processing plant Agriprocessors, the town's largest employer. The loss of jobs, was followed by an exodus of residents and steep decline in revenue in the Northeast Iowa community.

More than 100 of the Postville's 632 residential homes were put up for tax sale by the Allamakee County Treasurer's office in June. "For Sale" signs are still a common sight. Property tax and utility fee income has plummeted, straining the city's budget and empty storefronts line Greene Street. The closure propelled the unemployment rate in Allamakee County to around 10 percent. It remained 9.3 percent in September, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

Trevor Seiberts, owner of a construction company, laundromat, and dozens of rental properties has had to work harder just to stay afloat.

"I'm in enough businesses, and I have enough people around me that I've been able to keep up my mortgages," Seiberts said.

The grocery store portion of Sabor Latino, a Mexican store and restaurant, sits dark.

"It's slow, but it's still trying to survive," said Juan Pagaza, a Sabor Latino employee.

Some signs are emerging that the Postville economy is beginning to rebound. Of the 103 properties sold on tax sale for delinquent taxes, 70 have had their back taxes have already been paid off by their new owners, said Lori Hessey, Allamakee Treasurer.

The new owners of the meat packing plant, now called Agri Star, have started poultry processing and promise to begin beef production in December, Allamakee County Economic Development officials said.

Many small business owners, pushed to the brink, are holding on until a ramp up in production injects jobs and revenue into the town.

"If the other sections (of the plant) open, we'll have more business around here," said Pagaza.

The plant can also be a draw for other related businesses, said Steve Brustkern, executive director of the Black Hawk Development Corporation.

"In Postville's case, they have a gorilla to help jump start things," he said. The corporation has leads on potential businesses that either are considering locating or starting up in the Postville area that are in a related sector to the kosher processing plant, Brustkern said. He declined to provide more details about the opportunities.