Endicott: Redmond In Good Shape

REDMOND, OR -- According to Redmond Mayor George Endicott, the city is doing well despite the recession that has severely hurt Central Oregon. During his State of the City address Wednesday, Endicott said while nearly $1 million was set aside as a rainy day fund, roughly $17,000 has been used so far to help the city meet needs. He said while the slowdown in construction has hurt with fewer building permit requests and less revenue generated, the city has benefited in other ways.

"It's really been pretty good news because every contract we've let in the last year has come in somewhere between 15% and 20% below our estimates. So we're actually saving a lot of money on construction."

Endicott said there have been layoffs in the past year, mainly in the Planning Department, but he does not anticipate any large cuts in the upcoming year. He said Redmond has seen their booming expansion slow dramatically, from 11% growth in 2007, to a current growth level of 1.2%. Endicott added that the recession has changed the demographic makeup of Redmond as well.

"Unfortunately, young families are moving out and retirees are moving in. I mean, it's not a bad thing in terms of retirees but, when you loose your families, you loose kids, and school, and things like that. So, it's not a direct affect on the City but it's an affect on the community."

Endicott said looking into 2010, he's confident Redmond will be in good shape, but if the economy does not change, things could be very difficult three to four years from now. He added the recent passage of Measures 66 and 67 could make it very difficult on Oregon cities to grow.

"The state thinks it helps them, but it's a very short term solution to a long-term problem. My personal worry is in the long-term passing I think something like that hurts us because, even if it's not reality, the perception that the state of Oregon looks like it's not business friendly, it's going to hurt communities like ours trying to attract businesses."

Endicott was a guest Thursday morning on Wake Up Bend!

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