Josephine County commissioners back advisory committee for economic development funding process

On April 8, 2026, the Josephine County Board of County Commissioners agreed to advance a proposal to restructure the county’s Economic Development application process and to draft a Board Order to establish a five‑member advisory committee to review applications and recommend projects to the Board.

Ruth Nelson, who presented the proposal to the Board, outlined a framework that includes a draft application, a scoring guide, sample contracts and a review flow in which Finance and Legal perform an initial screen, the advisory committee evaluates and recommends projects, applicants make public presentations, and the Board makes final funding decisions. Nelson said the county would use reimbursement‑based contracts with ongoing Finance oversight.

The proposal calls for a five‑member advisory committee that would develop bylaws for Board approval and recommend projects and program refinements. Commissioner Colene Martin suggested committee seats be filled by people with finance and workforce development backgrounds and by representatives of large, small and rural businesses to provide a range of perspectives; the Board discussed allowing flexibility in required categories to avoid vacancies while still retaining key sector representation.

Commissioner Gary Richardson urged the Board not to concentrate funding only on individual businesses and emphasized the value of infrastructure projects that provide longer‑term community benefits. Nelson responded that "state statute provides a broad definition of economic development, generally centered on job creation and community benefit," and noted the proposed scoring criteria already awards preference points to projects demonstrating broader community benefits, including infrastructure and quality‑of‑life improvements.

The Board also confirmed that internal County departments would apply using the same process as external applicants to ensure fairness. Commissioners discussed an option to allow direct payments to vendors rather than to applicants in certain circumstances to improve accountability; Nelson said contract language could incorporate that option.

Commissioners expressed support for an annual application cycle to begin in the fall after adoption of the County budget so available funding is known. Nelson said approximately $511,000 in unencumbered funds is currently available and that additional quarterly revenue is anticipated.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Board reached consensus to draft a Board Order to establish the advisory committee and continue refining program materials; the Board approved moving forward without objection. No other items were raised and the meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m.