MEMBER NEWS
June Chamber Forum Review Jackson County Fiscal Report & Update on the Almeda and South Obenchain Fires at the Chamber of Medford & Jackson County Forum Virtual Forum with Danny Jordan, Jackson County Administrator. Sponsored by: Jackson County, June Forum D uring the June Forum, Jackson County Administrator Danny Jordan provided attendees with an update on the county’s financial status, in addition to addressing questions regarding last September’s wildfires.
response from many agencies, a temporary evacuation center staffed by county personnel, strong relationships and coordination with different
technology disciplines, and positive pre-incident regional relationships. However, there were also areas of improvement. The first was a lack of situational awareness related to the intensity of the speed and direction of the fire. According to the video, this made it hard to establish a good flow of information. There was also a lack of emergency management staff, and lack of coordination between the county and cities. After the video ended, Jordan touched on some additional points. He said Talent and Phoenix were hit particularly hard by the wildfires, with almost 50% of their housing stock lost, along with almost 200 commercial businesses. “The fire disproportionately
Jordan’s presentation began with a quick overview of Jackson County’s 2020 audit. A short video noted the county had five clean reports, which was great given the year and unprecedented circumstances. The overall report was positive, showing an upward trend over the past few years, and a decrease in expenses in almost every category. Additionally, the report showed low debt balances, meaning the county is being managed without incurring a lot of debt. Jordan then explained the four types of revenue the county has: operating (constant and predictable), non-dedicated (purpose of use is discretionary), non-operating (fund
Danny Jordan, Jackson County Administrator
impacted low income, eldery and disadvantaged populations. It’s estimated about 7,500-8,500 Rogue Valley residents were left homeless within a matter of hours,” he said. According to Jordan, it was a stressful time because all of the county and city resources were immediately overwhelmed. “We called for state help but that was slow to arrive because there was a statewide demand for the same resources,” he added. However, Jordan didn’t want to overlook the things that went right during the fire. “The sheriff’s office and law
balance, reserves and windfalls), and dedicated (for a specific purpose). He also noted the general fund reserves — the county’s “rainy day” fund — is about $75 million. Jordan then discussed last year’s wildfires. “September 8th was the worst disaster in the county’s recorded history,” he said. To glean more information about what happened and the county’s response, they hired an outside agency to conduct a thorough After Action Report. The next part of the presentation was a short video summarizing the report. The video stated the primary strengths of the county’s wildfire response: rapid
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July 2021 | The Business Review
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