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Region Working to Become Officially Distressed

PORTLAND, OR-Regional public agencies completed a comprehensive economic development strategy earlier this year. Now they're close to applying for official status as a regional economic development district. It's the first step to receiving additional federal funding for having an unemployment rate higher than the national average.

By Brian K. Miller | Updated on September 17, 2005

PORTLAND, OR-With its comprehensive economic development strategy in hand and public agencies passing resolutions this week in support of the plan, this region is ready to apply to become an official regional economic development district. The CEDS and the formation of the district are the first steps toward receiving more federal funding that the area can receive without being an official regional EDD.

Being an official EDD means the federal government recognizes the area as distressed, a designation that can only be achieved by a region when its unemployment rate is higher than the national average. The Greater Portland area has been in that position for years now, and public and private agencies in the region have been working to create the CEDS document and the Regional Business Plan for the past two years, says Gertler. As of June, the metro-area unemployment rate was 6.3% and the national average was 5%.

The PDC’s economic development manager Elissa Gertler tells GlobeSt.com that the consortium will submit its EDD application at the end of the month. She expects it to be approved before the end of the end of the year or in early January. After that, Gertler says a group meeting will be convened to identify priorities for federal funding. While she expects less funds to be available in the coming years as funds are funneled to states affected by Hurricane Katrina, Gertler says the region likely will submit for funding before the midway point of 2006.”There are generally higher scores for transportation and land redevelopment and sewer and water and special works projects,” she says. “It’s very infrastructure focused.”

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