John Day's Strategy for Growth

In January 2017 the City Council approved a new Strategy for Growth​ for the City of John Day.

The Strategy has three basic elements:

1. Differentiated capabilities – identifying those things that make us stand out in positive ways from other communities;
2. Cost structure alignment – adjusting our spending priorities so the investments we make and the costs we incur fuel growth;
3. Organize for growth – empowering our strategic partners, local stakeholders and city staff to further our strategy by re-directing effort toward growth initiatives.

Why focus on growth?

Three decades of steady population decline has left the City struggling to find sufficient revenue to fund basic public services. The disruption to the natural resource-based economy in the 1990s and the subsequent loss of family-wage jobs created a vacuum in our economy that has been filled largely by the unemployed, marginally employed and by retired residents living on fixed incomes.

The intent of the strategy is to reverse the pattern of population and economic decline by achieving a modest and sustainable growth rate. While no specific population targets have been set, an annual growth rate of 0.5% would add nine new residents the first year. Even at an accelerated growth rate of 1.5%, the city would only add 26 new residents in the first year (roughly 8 new families). At the accelerated rate it would take over ten years to recover the population we've lost in the past three decades.

The strategy also includes an understanding of and sensitivity to our community’s traditional values and culture. Our desire is to grow in a balanced way so we can preserve our rural lifestyle and quality of life for generations to come.

Target Demographics

The ​Strategy for Growth​ focuses on recruiting and retaining three core demographics:

1. Digital commuters who have a choice about where they work;
2. Active retirees with disposable income; and
3. Young, working families that contribute to the local economy and tax base.

Attracting these demographics will result in a more diversified and more resilient economy and will promote growth in supporting infrastructure and agencies, including the local hospital and schools.

Investing for the Future

Targeting these demographics will require the City to focus its investments in four main areas:

1. Digital marketing and branding that promotes our rural quality of life;
2. Recreational amenities that make for attractive, active-lifestyle communities;
3. Competitive broadband infrastructure enabling residents to be digitally connected to friends, family and co-workers; and
4. Housing and community development​ initiatives that create more housing options across a wider and more balanced price range and community spaces that enhance the economic value of our city.

Where do we go from here?

Over the next several months the City will be launching a new multi-media marketing campaign to generate a "buzz" around John Day. We are also identifying several areas for land development and investment in new recreational amenities including walking / biking / jogging trails and multi-use paths, an integrated park system and new city parks, and a new aquatic center. The City is working with the Grant County Digital Network Coalition to create new broadband infrastructure opportunities in John Day and across Grant County. We have also created a new housing incentive plan to encourage home construction and renovation. These are just a few of the many community projects the city is undertaking as part of its Strategy for Growth​.

Stay Informed

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