Association Of Central Oklahoma Governments

PROJECT PURPOSE

The Community Economic Resiliency Initiative is a collaborative program between the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, the Oklahoma Main Street Program, and the Institute for Quality Communities designed to revitalize Oklahoma communities for a self-sufficient future. CERI supports local efforts to cultivate cultural and economic prosperity by establishing a foundation for community reinvestment. CERI will successfully revitalize Oklahoma communities and provide for a self-sufficient future utilizing three main strategies: Government Agility: 1. Employing localized community engagement methods 2. Establishing new citizen-led steering committees 3. Streamlining bureaucratic processes Long-Term Economic Resiliency: 1. Spurring public and private investment 2. Installing new Oklahoma Main Street Communities 3. Generating a more robust small business ecosystem Cultural Heritage Tourism: 1. Incorporating physical, cultural, and social identity into better urban design 2. Maximizing cultural value by connecting people and the places they share 3. Elevating tourism revenue by revitalizing communities Through community research and engagement, recommendations development, best practices training, and proposed project implementation strategies, CERI will create the opportunity for municipalities to envision greater economic potential. By encouraging government agility, ensuring long-term economic resiliency, and promoting cultural heritage tourism, CERI will enable the successful growth and revitalization of communities for a prosperous, self-sufficient future.

EVIDENCE

The OMSC's structured community revitalization approach has resulted in over $2B of reinvestment, more than 20,000 new jobs, and nearly 6,000 new or expanded businesses. Over 70% of Main Street cities have been with OMSC for 10+ years. The IQC community engagement strategy has resulted in the implementation of projects across Oklahoma, including a $1M urban plaza soon to be constructed in Oklahoma City?s Historic Capitol Hill. Combined, these initiatives will enable the successful growth and revitalization of our most vulnerable communities for a prosperous, self-sufficient future. For more information on OMSC and IQC projects, go to okcommerce.gov/community-development/main-street-revitalization/ and iqc.ou.edu/projects/.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahomans in smaller municipalities have been disproportionately affected by economic vulnerability, population loss, community disconnection, and fiscal uncertainty. CERI, with a focus on Oklahoma?s small- to medium-sized communities with populations of 50,000 or less, provides internal support and resources that allow for self-sufficiency. The population of non-metro Oklahoma counties has fallen by 3% since 2010, in the same time period the population of metro Oklahoma counties has risen by 10%. Oklahoma?s non-metro populations are much more likely to be of low-to-moderate income, and have a much higher concentration of qualified census tracts. Leisure and hospitality employment and weekly foot traffic, core components of the Oklahoma workforce and municipal finance, have been depressed by more than 15% statewide since the start of the pandemic, particularly in non-metro areas. Finally, sales and use tax receipts in non-metro areas are falling behind inflation, projecting gradual erosion in future municipal revenues. The recovery of smaller communities will lag behind the rest of the State of Oklahoma without strategic governmental planning, investment into long-term economic resiliency, and renewed engagement of the community. With OMSC and IQC assistance, CERI will enable the economic and cultural revitalization of underserved communities.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The OMSC will incorporate CERI projects into its monthly reinvestment report, which compiles statistics on building rehabilitations, public-private collaborations, volunteer hours, and net gains in employment and businesses, among others. Through its monthly updates to ACOG, the IQC will detail its public engagement efforts, collecting data on public opinion and vision, as well documenting the dialogues of local steering committees. ACOG will continually monitor overall project performance and compile a comprehensive final report on the economic and cultural impacts of CERI, including its effects on local reinvestment, civic activity, public sentiment, and gains in sales, use, and lodging tax receipts.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

One-time project will not need continued funding