Madras, Jefferson County leaders push joint strategic plan, explore University of Oregon students for outreach

Jefferson County commissioners and Madras city representatives told each other they want a coordinated strategic plan that aligns city and county goals and saves money by sharing outreach and consultant costs.

County staff said money has been earmarked in the county’s budget to begin the process and that the city council expressed interest in a summer start. The county has been in contact with a consultant (named in the meeting as Sarah [last name redacted in transcript]) and is awaiting a formal proposal to outline scope and cost.

County commissioners also discussed a prospective partnership with the University of Oregon’s Livable City program (students working during the summer) to support outreach, booth staffing and preliminary data compilation. The presenter said that pairing student labor with a consultant team could reduce professional-service costs and broaden community participation.

Commissioners and councilors emphasized that Madras — as the county’s economic center — shares many objectives with Jefferson County and that an explicit, joint strategic plan would help prioritize limited funds. Several speakers described the collaboration as timely, given constrained budgets and the desire to set multi-year priorities for infrastructure, economic development and services.

Ending: County staff said they will continue to seek consultant proposals and will brief both governing bodies when proposals are available for review and potential joint funding.