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In a speech, Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson highlighted the Cow Creek Tribe of Umpqua Indians for their very significant contributions to the Douglas County area economy.
by Chris CaseyBuilding on momentum from new industries and turning an apparent setback -- last summer's forest fires -- into a gain are keys to moving Douglas County ahead in 2003, Commissioner Doug Robertson said in Monday's state of the county address.
Robertson, the veteran member of the county Board of Commissioners, spoke to about 100 people at the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce's noon forum. He addressed a perennial Douglas County sore spot -- unemployment -- at the outset.
The county's unemployment rate of 8.1 percent at the end of November compares favorably to past years, he noted. Five years ago, the jobless rate was 8.7 percent, 10 years ago 11.2 percent and 20 years ago 17.2 percent.
Although the jobless rate is headed in the right direction, Robertson said, "I don't think 2003 is going to be a watershed year" in terms of economic growth.
While private industry has been forced to cut costs in recent years due to the faltering economy, public agencies must follow suit, Robertson said.
Programs funded by the state that are administered by the county -- particularly social services -- will be "severely impacted" by the state budget crisis. He said law enforcement and the court systems will also suffer from the shortage of state funds.
Robertson said it will be up to the public to decide if reductions in services merit passage of Measure 28, which would raise state income taxes for a three-year period.
Asked to expound on the subject after his talk, Robertson said he doesn't know of any governmental entity that has taxed its way to prosperity. "It's about creating jobs, creating commerce. It's not about taking more from the private sector that's been beat over the head with taxes and regulations."
During his speech he said other challenges facing the county include higher energy costs that could be the result of war in Iraq. Another outside factor hitting close to home is the influx of Canadian lumber, which is produced at lower costs because of subsidies provided by the Canadian government, Robertson said. Those subsidies are making it "very difficult for us to compete" in the lumber market.
There are many opportunities that the county must be prepared to seize in the year ahead, he said. A platform is in place with the arrival of large companies, such as Dell Computer Corp. in Roseburg and American Bridge Co. in Reedsport, in the last year.
"The momentum that goes with these corporate entities is huge," Robertson said.
He said he is "still very optimistic" that South Korean electric car company Advanced Transportation Technology R&D will soon move ahead on plans for an assembly plant in Sutherlin.
The timber payments bill -- a federal safety net program that replaces lost timber receipts -- is due to expire in three years. The county received $22 million in federal timber payments in the current fiscal year, Robertson said. Without the safety net, the county would have received $3 million, he noted.
Douglas County should complete a couple long-overdue bridge projects while the repayment program remains in effect, Robertson said. Portland Avenue on the south end of Roseburg and Weaver Road between Myrtle Creek and Tri City have been targeted for decades as direct connections from Highway 99 to Interstate 5.
"If (the bridges) are ever going to be built, they are going to be built in the next two to three years," Robertson said.
Both projects alleviate problematic traffic patterns -- for Roseburg, congestion around Douglas County Fairgrounds, and for Myrtle Creek, the dangers associated with exiting I-5 along the S-turns -- and should help spur commercial development, he said.
A positive could be derived from the negative of 600,000 acres of forest burned in southern Oregon last summer, Robertson noted.
The fires left billions of board feet of charred timber that could be salvaged, but if no plans for thinning are made in the next 12 to 18 months "it will be lost. That's an economic loss not to just this county but the entire nation."
Robertson added, "It's important that we can demonstrate to Congress that we can generate some revenue to help offset the costs (of the safety net)."
Robertson is part of a national panel that will likely push for reauthorization of the federal timber payments. "Six years is not a long enough period of time" to help communities stabilize their economies after the drop in timber receipts, he said.
Robertson highlighted The Ford Family Foundation -- "one of the largest charitable trusts in the nation" -- the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and Umpqua Community College and the Umpqua Training and Employment Inc. for their significant contributions to the area economy.
He also cited Douglas County's dependable work force and quality of life as assets that must be promoted to continue to attract people and industry to the region.
"I cannot overemphasize the importance (the county's physical beauty) has on people looking to relocate a company, start a new business, bring people in here to live and work," he said. "It's a huge asset."
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