 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 33, No. 21 * November 12, 2001 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Resources for rural counties
More than 500 regional development organizations across the country are helping county officials identify priorities and plan for the future. These organizations are called Economic Development Districts, Councils of Governments, Regional Planning Commissions and many other names, but all have the primary purpose of helping counties and other local governments build sustainable communities and create jobs. A recent NACo survey showed that rural counties are experiencing greater fiscal stress, are less likely to have economic development professional staff, have a much lower capacity for grant-seeking and limited access to the latest technology. Regional development organizations in rural and small metropolitan areas provide a critically important resource to help rural counties meet these challenges. While large urban counties and cities can afford full-time professional staff, rural counties increasingly turn to their regional development organization for assistance and expertise in securing state and federal grants. Regional organizations are particularly important for small metropolitan and rural counties and are often the only local resource available to officials looking for assistance and funding. “The Southeast Tennessee Development District helps McMinn County accomplish things we can’t hire people to do,” according to County Executive Ron Banks. Banks has seen the practical value of working with the district to solve local problems including an overcrowded jail and overflowing landfill. “The development district is a resource. It’s like having a whole staff working for you,” he notes. County officials and NACo were among the earliest supporters of regional planning and cooperation, in both urban and rural regions. During the 1960s the federal government promoted and funded regional planning for a wide array of programs from economic development and transportation to law enforcement assistance. Of the 47 federal programs that required regional planning, only 13 were continued in the 1990s. Despite the decline in federal planning funds, regional development organizations continue to provide needed technical assistance. A 2000 survey by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) showed a typical regional development organization was founded in 1969, serves a population of 220,000 in six counties and 33 cities and towns, has 16 employees and a budget between $1 million and $1.5 million. Funding for the typical regional organization budget is 42 percent federal; 21 percent state; 11 percent local; 11 percent service fees; 3 percent private and 6 percent other funds. The programs vary by region and reflect local priorities including transportation planning, workforce training, services for the aging, solid waste management, small business revolving loan funds, emergency management, geographic information systems and tourism. (For information about regional development organizations in small metropolitan and rural counties, visit www.nado.org or e-mail info@nado.org. Included on the NADO Web site at www.nado.org/pubs/digest.html are copies of the Economic Development Digest with information about regional development organizations and their work with counties.) |