UNION COUNTY BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM
Union County recognizes the most important economic development investment is that made in the retention and expansion of the existing business community.
In 2011 UCEDC, in partnership with Union County, The City of La Grande and the Union County Chamber of Commerce as well as a host of volunteers initiated the Union County Business Retention and Expansion Program. The Program’s initial focus was a gathering critical and necessary data and information from the local business community to support the development of strategies and program that directly assist business in Union County. The overarching goal of the BR&E Program is to aide our local businesses by increasing their competitiveness and helping them stay local, grow and expand.
The initial round of business interviews, using a BRE Survey Instrument, has been completed and the results of the interviews compiled and reported in the Union County BR&E 2011 Summary Report.
The data and information derived from the interviews touched on the following subjects:
The BR&E Program seeks to provide immediate response to issues and concerns facing local companies that may seriously impact on their competitiveness, issues such as local permitting, access to affordable utility services, workforce quality, and regulation of business activities. In these instances UCEDC and the BR&E Program partners seek out best available resources to address the issue and find a resolution.
The on-going BR&E Program will continue to interact with local businesses and assit by
The BR&E Program’s regular visitation with local business provides an opportunity for UCEDC to: