09/14/1977 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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, Mr. Lieuallen wondered if Commissioner Wood was saying there would be three groups in existence, the commission, a port district, and EOO. Mr. Wood replied the commission would become the EDO and could be initiated e immediately. The port district would take considerable time, community support and debate, with EDO helping in establishing such a district by gathering facts of need and how it should be implemented. Ed Whitelaw, Economic Consultants of Oregon, said his remarks would proceed from the logical policy implications of the research he had done. for Eugene and Lane County, and from his familiarity with operations of and attempts at creating port and EDD districts elsewhere in Oregon. He said these groups are typically responsive to severe economic prob- ~ lems in areas that lack aggregate demand for labor. He cited the Coos/ Curry/Douglas Counties who suffered from a lack of jObs and rapid growth. Their response was to create entities to help attract more jobs. He said Lane County hardly suffers from a lack of demand. If the problems which exist in Lane County do not come from a lack of aggregate demand, then that has different policy implications. He said Lane County should not be seeking these kinds of entities out of desperation, but rather should deal with them on the supply side that exists from present economic growth. He felt institutional arrangements such as creation of a port district should be the last step. First it should be determined in some detail what problems exist, what the goals of the community are, and isolate the target variables. He cited target variables as being perhaps per capita income or lack of industry. The City should then work with policy instruments that would have the greatest impact on these target variables, then arrange organizations to e facilitate the implementation of those policies. He continued the unemployment in this area derives from different causes (not lack of demand) as compared to other areas in the state, saying Lane County has a net in-migration made up of two distinct groups: those changing jobs or moving into the area and seeking jobs who would not be the same unemployed group next year; and those who are in the unemployment categories year in and year out. He said attracting new industry will not solve the problem for this latter category. He cited this as being the supply side of the labor market. Thus the City needs to have pOlicy in- struments to deal with this supply side of the labor market. He suggested the kind of economic planning the city should undertake should not be out of desperation for lack of aggregate demand, but as a result of looking at the robust growth and demand likely in the area. The City should try to take a more integrated community-wide perspective, including private and public employers, employment and training programs, and land use planning. He referred Council to his memo dated September 7 directed to the Planning Department, giving emphasis to the material under item 4, institutional arrangements. He reiterated the City is currently coping with growth, and it should maintain the major determining role in whatever institutional arrangements are established because the City is the only single institution capable of maintaining this integrated, community-wide perspective for economic development in Eugene. e ~ 9/14/77--6 108