The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (eRep) presented its third-quarter impact report to Vanderburgh County commissioners on Nov. 4, reporting several regional and local economic-development milestones and describing a proposed update to the county's tax-abatement scoring rubric.

Patrick Hickey of eRep said REDI 2-funded regional projects not listed in the public impact report represent substantial investment: "regionally, total over 860 new housing units, $300,000,000 in capital investment, and $2,400,000,000 in economic impact," he said. Hickey added that within Vanderburgh County five projects alone are projected to deliver more than 500 housing units and about $650,000,000 in economic impact.

Hickey said eRep fielded 15 information requests from the state's economic development corporation in Q3, but most site searches in unincorporated Vanderburgh County were larger than available unincorporated parcels, limiting options for site selection. He reported ongoing business retention and expansion activity, with workforce and warehouse space constraints cited by local companies as top barriers to growth.

On tax abatements, Hickey said a draft scoring sheet to replace the 2017 rubric has been developed and is being privately socialized among city and county councils; he said the draft gives more weight to capital investment and quality jobs and that a public meeting on the draft is expected in mid- to late November before formal consideration by both bodies.

Hickey invited questions and said staff will continue outreach to support site development and workforce initiatives in the county.