Item 1: Regional Economic Development

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JEO OINT LECTED FFICIALS AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Regional Economic Development Meeting Date: September 14, 2009 Agenda Item Number: 1 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Jon Ruiz, Gino Grimaldi, Jeff Spartz www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5336 ISSUE STATEMENT At the June Joint Elected Officials (JEO) meeting, members approved the framework for a regional economic development plan that will better position our regional economy to take advantage of economic opportunities that align with our area’s assets and values. The JEO Economic Development subcommittee (ED Task Force) that was formed to oversee the development of this plan has worked with the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), a group composed of key stakeholders in our regional economy, to develop economic development strategies that will help define the next economy for our region. The ED Task Force recommends that the JEO approve the economic development strategies outlined below to ensure continued and timely progress on creating a regional economic development plan. BACKGROUND The citizens of the Eugene-Springfield metro area have felt the burden of the financial crisis more so than in other counties and other states. The decline in local jobs, coupled with an increased demand for social services, is putting a strain on city, county and state programs. The Eugene-Springfield metro area unemployment rate in July 2009, was 12.5%, a 6 percentage point increase over the last year, which is slightly higher than the state unemployment rate of 11.9%. The decline in the availability of local jobs has put increased pressure on social services. The number of cases in the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for our local district has increased 18.5 percentage points over the past year. The number of applications for low-income housing in Lane County in 2008, increased 13 percentage points compared to the previous year. These programs are indicative that the economic crisis has significantly impacted our local economy and that the need for a regional, long-term plan is present. At the March Joint Elected Officials (JEO) meeting, members expressed interest in holding a Regional Economic Summit to coordinate a collaborative response to the current situation and formed a subcommittee (ED Task Force) for this purpose. At the June JEO meeting, the framework for the development of a regional economic development plan was approved. The framework for designing our next economy included the creation of a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) that is composed of key stakeholders in our regional economy. (Please see attachment A for the member list of the TAG). The TAG developed a list of strategies and tactics that they feel the region should strategically focus on to best influence the economic development of our region. Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090914\S091409Noon1.doc