The City of Bend, Oregon Bend Picture Montage ©2006 Teresa Krafft / Krafft Design History What is now Bend, Oregon was known only to Native Americans until the winter of 1824. It was then that Peter Skene Ogden’s fur trapping party became the first non-native visitors to the region. John Fremont and other army survey parties followed soon thereafter, as did caravans of pioneers who forded the Deschutes at a bend in the river known as “Farewell Bend”. A small community grew up around that historical crossing, and the City of Bend was officially incorporated in 1905, boasting a start-up population of 300. In addition to being a service and retail center for the area, agriculture and horse and cattle ranching were also staples of the early Bend economy. In 1909, two competitive railroad barons, E.H. Harriman and James J. Hill, entered into a multi-million dollar battle to see who would first lay the track to Bend. In 1911, Hill’s Oregon Trunk Railroad was completed, providing a short cut for rail freight from Northern California to the Columbia River. With the stimulus of the railroad, two large Minnesota based lumber companies (Brooks-Scanlon and Shevlin-Hixon) built mills in Bend in 1914, and timber became the mainstay of the local economy. Bend continued to grow and became increasingly reliant on the timber industry until the mid 1970’s when tourism began to change the face of the town. Still, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that timber as a mainstay in the City’s economic diet, became a thing of the past. After the recession of the mid 1980’s, Bend was quick to come back and was once again experiencing significant growth by the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Growth was triggered by several factors. First, Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort matured as a ski area achieving national status. This then became the catalyst for the visitor industry, which simultaneously generated industrial and commercial expansion. Coupled with an already popular summer season, a year around tourism industry was developed, which stimulated the development of other major destination resorts. Lumber remanufacturing firms settled in Bend, and wood products continued to be a leading economic factor, along with tourism, and other diversified industries developing. This economic growth, and accompanying population expansion, established Bend as the largest Oregon city east of the Cascade Mountain Range and is the region’s principal tourism, wood products, professional services, retail, medical and governmental service center. Les Schwab Headquarters at Juniper Ridge 2012 Central Oregon Product or # of Percent of Principal Private Employers Services Employees Total City Employment St Charles Health System (Region Wide) Health Care 2,842 4.0% Sunriver Resort Recreation/Hospitality 900 1.3% Les Schwab Tire Centers (Region Wide) Tires/Auto Care 870 1.2% Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort Recreation 749 1.0% Bend Memorial Clinic (Region Wide) Health Care 575 0.8% Safeway (Region Wide) Grocery Store 575 0.8% Northview Hotel Group Hospitality 530 0.8% Wal-Mart (Region Wide) Merchandise Store 519 0.8% Fred Meyer Merchandise Store 497 0.7% Bright Wood Corporation (Region Wide) Windows/Doors 494 0.7% TOTAL 8,551 12.1% Source: Economic Development for Central Oregon, Central Oregon Profile Bend Today Bend is nestled on the Eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range and little of the precipitation that is so often associated with “Oregon” actually makes it across the mountains. In fact, Bend receives an average of only 8-15 inches of precipitation per year and enjoys lots of sunny, blue skies which is one reason our city is ranked among the most desirable places to live by national magazines. State of Oregon City of Bend, Deschutes County State of Oregon, By County; Source: Geology.com 2012 Deschutes County Population Bend 77,455 La Pine 1,670 Redmond 26,345 Sisters 2,080 Unincorporated 52,590 Total 160,140 Deschutes County; Source: League of Oregon Cities webpage Population Data: http://www.pdx.edu/prc/population-estimates-0 Bend has experienced exponential growth for most of the past decade. However, the area was hit hard by the impacts of the nation wide recession and the collapse in both the residential and commercial construction markets. Bend is slowly beginning to recover and like other areas, it is expected to take years to fully recover from this economic downturn. Despite this, Bend still offers many amenities for a city of its size. Aside from the sunny climate, the leading reasons people still continue to move to the region include year-round outdoor recreational activities, well established retail, top-rated restaurants, an award winning parks system and a thriving community as listed below. Activities With over 2.5 million acres of public land and open space, the area offers something for everyone. Opportunities abound for a variety of activities: o Golf o White water rafting o Fishing o Hunting o Mountain bike riding o Boating o Hiking o Rock climbing o Snow skiing o Snowmobiling o Water skiing o Fishing o Camping Balloons Over Bend, Summer 2006 ©2006 Dustin Mitsch / Alpen Exposure o Horseback riding Local Attractions Local attractions include: o Mt. Bachelor o Smith Rock State Park o Newberry National Volcanic Monument o Tumalo Falls o Cascade Lakes o High Desert Museum o Tower Theater o Old Mill District o Drake Park Pole-Peddle-Paddle, Cascade Cycling Classic, national mountain bike tournaments are just several of the local events that attract outdoor enthusiasts from amateurs to professionals. Tower Theater, Downtown Bend ©2006 Dustin Mitsch / Alpen Exposure Statistical Information – 2012 Demographic Highlights General Facts Date of incorporation: 1905 Form of government: Council/Manager Population: 77,455 Area in square miles: 32.5 Full Time Equivalents: 450.3 Public Safety ‘Hostile Fire’ calls answered: 394 EMS calls answered: 6,484 Number of physical arrests: 3,843 Number of traffic violations: 10,119 Number of calls for Police service: 53,973 Public Works Center lane miles of streets: 403 Number of roundabouts: 29 City owned traffic signals: 65 A view of the Cascades in Bend, Oregon ©2006 Dustin Mitsch / Alpen Exposure Miles of water mains: 461 Number of fire hydrants: 5,073 Water service connections: 23,622 Daily average water use: 11 mgd (in millions of gallons) Maximum daily capacity of water system (in millions of gallons): 31 mgd Miles of sanitary sewer lines: 430 Community Development Sewer service connections: 27,913 New residential permits processed: 357 Daily average treatment: 5.5 mgd New commercial permits processed: 13 Maximum daily capacity of treatment Land use applications processed: 250 plant (in millions of gallons): 12.0 mgd Building inspections completed: 20,221 Statistical Information – 2012-13 Principal Taxpayers Taxable Assessed Valuation Percent of Total Taxpayer Type (in 000’s) Valuation Pacificorp (PP&L) Electric utility $ 41,132 0.5% Deschutes Brewery, Inc. Microbrew manufacturer 36,391 0.4% Touchmark at Mt. Bachelor Retirement community 34,656 0.4% CVSC LLC Shopping center 32,140 0.4% Suterra LLC Biorational productions 33,737 0.4% Bend Cable Communications Cable utility 27,807 0.3% Deschutes Properties LLC Real estate developer 25,086 0.3% Forum Holdings, LLC Shopping center 23,641 0.3% Cascade Natural Gas Corp Gas utility 23,810 0.3% Rivers Edge Investments, LLC Real estate developer 20,461 0.2% TOTAL $298,861 3.63% Total 2012-13 Taxable Assessed Valuation for all taxpayers in the City of Bend was $8.24 billion. Source: Deschutes County Assessor’s Office Statistical Information - Property Tax Rates Property Tax Rates - Direct and Overlapping Governments Last ten fiscal years (amounts expressed per $1,000 of assessed value) City Direct Rates Overlapping Rates Bend Bend Metro Central Bend La-Pine Urban Parks and Education Oregon Administrative Fiscal City of Renewal Total Recreation Deschutes Service Community School Year Bend District Direct District County District College District #1 Total 2004 2.77 0.39 3.16 1.45 3.31 0.09 0.73 6.43 15.16 2005 2.77 0.40 3.17 1.45 3.31 0.09 0.72 6.38 15.11 2006 2.78 0.37 3.14 1.45 3.31 0.09 0.72 6.34 15.04 2007 2.77 0.38 3.15 1.46 3.26 0.09 0.71 6.31 14.98 2008 2.78 0.40 3.18 1.45 3.28 0.09 0.71 6.26 14.97 2009 2.78 0.41 3.19 1.45 3.52 0.09 0.70 6.30 15.25 2010 2.77 0.44 3.21 1.45 3.52 0.09 0.61 6.44 15.33 2011 2.76 0.48 3.24 1.45 3.48 0.09 0.72 6.49 15.48 2012 3.00 0.23 3.23 1.45 3.46 0.10 0.74 6.26 15.23 2013 3.04 0.12 3.16 1.46 3.51 0.10 0.75 6.18 15.16 Source: Deschutes County Assessor's Office Note: Property tax rates are for a representative tax code area (1-001) within the City and include operating and debt service levies. The Bend Urban Renewal District rate, Bend Downtown Urban Renewal, Bend Juniper Ridge Urban 2013 Property Tax Allocation For City of Bend Residents City of Bend School District 20% 41% Deschutes County 23% COCC ESD Parks & Rec BURA 5% 1% 9% 1% Statistical Information - Property Tax Values Assessed and Estimated Actual Value of Taxable Property Last ten fiscal years (amounts expressed in thousands) Total Percent Fiscal Direct of TAV Year Real Property Personal Property Public Utilities Total Tax Rate to RMV RMV TAV RMV TAV RMV TAV RMV TAV 2004 6,572,581 4,602,246 177,321 177,310 95,810 95,722 6,845,712 4,875,278 3.0035 71.2% 2005 7,426,197 5,103,393 185,854 185,850 104,835 104,619 7,716,886 5,393,862 3.0435 69.9% 2006 8,946,076 5,712,230 213,276 210,382 92,809 92,621 9,252,161 6,015,233 3.0235 65.0% 2007 12,525,855 6,369,945 244,131 237,308 97,149 95,837 12,867,135 6,703,090