The Oregon Business Plan

Your Association Working to Better Oregon’s Economic Future

The Oregon Business Plan brought together over 1,000 business leaders and policymakers from throughout the state to the Oregon Convention Center in early December for the annual Oregon Leadership Summit. The Oregon Business Plan is a statewide initiative led by Oregon’s business community to shape a long-term vision and strategy for creating more quality jobs in our state.

The Business Plan/Leadership Summit is organized by the Oregon Business Council. Staff and members of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) not only attended, but also assisted with the event.

Since it was launched in 2002, the Oregon Business Plan has provided the strategic framework for Oregon’s business and elected leaders – working together – to build a stronger, more competitive state economy. Many of the initiatives introduced at the first Leadership Summit in 2002 have already been achieved, including key investments in innovative micro and nanotechnology research, road and bridge improvements, a federal forest health bill, expansion of development-ready industrial lands, and a coordinated state branding campaign.

The Business Plan pays special attention to the primary source of Oregon’s prosperity: our traded-sector industries. Businesses in these industries sell their goods and services primarily outside the state, creating jobs and bringing in new dollars that benefit local communities.

Traded-sector industries need an economic climate with the right mix of education and workforce capabilities, an attractive quality of life, reasonable business costs, and an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit statewide. We call these ingredients the four Ps - people, places, productivity, and pioneering innovation – and they help guide the formation of the Plan’s short-term initiatives.

The Oregon Business Plan effort is led by the Oregon Business Plan Steering Committee, a coalition of business leaders representing diverse industries and associations from across the state. Steve McCoid, president and CEO of ORLA, serves on the Steering Committee.

While the economic recovery is tenuous, and the long-term challenges facing Oregon and the nation are severe, Oregon leaders made significant progress this year improving the climate for growing jobs and incomes in our state. The Business Plan applauded Governor Kitzhaber, Senate President Courtney, Co-speakers Hanna and Roblan, and the entire legislative assembly for rolling up their sleeves, putting aside partisan differences and working to improve Oregon’s economic health and the well-being of Oregonians.

Although significant progress was made, many Oregonians are still struggling to find work and the budget cuts that were made this year will have real consequences for individuals and families. But, given the hand they were dealt, Oregon lawmakers banded together, solved problems and set the stage for future job and income growth.

On an issue-specific note, I led a panel discussion at the Business Plan on efforts to secure additional water from the Columbia River for irrigation and job creation in a way that increases populations of endangered salmon.

Farmers and environmentalists have a unique opportunity to create thousands of jobs while improving salmon runs in the Columbia River. It requires partnering on more sophisticated methods for mitigating environmental impact, and withdrawing, storing, and using water where the Columbia River flows along northeast Oregon. At last year’s Summit it was observed that current Water Resources Board rules preclude withdrawing water from the Columbia for irrigation and other beneficial uses between April 15 and October 1, even when flows are so high that water is spilling over the dams. ORLA recommended revising this policy to allow for increased withdrawals during high flow years. It turned out that 2011 was such a year.

While this specific step would bring economic benefits, discussions last year among farmers, environmental interests, and the Governor’s office pointed to an even larger opportunity. In reality, withdrawing an additional small fraction of the Columbia water flow could result in thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity in Northeast Oregon. At the same time, with appropriate timing of the withdrawals, along with mitigation funding, salmon runs could actually be improved.

There are many feasible measures on this issue that can help fish, farms, families, and the Oregon economy. Stakeholders need to come to the table to work out solutions.

McCoid and I were asked to lead some of these discussions because ORLA has been working with other business groups trying to find ways to grow the economy in parts of Oregon outside of the Portland area that have higher unemployment rates and having issues funding infrastructure projects. To this effort, all industry sectors are diligently working together to try and create jobs and build for long term economic stability around the state. | BILL PERRY

For more information please contact President & CEO Steve McCoid SMccoid@OregonRLA.org or Vice President of Government Affairs Bill Perry at BPerry@OregonRLA.org.