Northeast Oregon Economic Development District

“NEOEDD is organized by intergovernmental agreement between Baker, Union and Wallowa Counties according to Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 190. As organizing entities, Baker, Union and Wallowa county commissioners each appoint up to six members of the board. Two commissioners from each county serve as members of the NEOEDD board. They are therefore in the dual role of serving on the board and appointing individuals to the board of directors. The board also may appoint up to three individuals to the board.”

“The draft 990 was circulated to board members 10 days prior to filing. If board members have questions or comments, they were addressed prior to filing. If board members suggested changes, the suggestion was researched and changed if the suggestion was a more accurate answer.”

“Many board members are also elected officials or government officials who are familiar with conflict of interest rules and attend government ethics training as a routine part of their other positions. This training is also available for all board members. Board members are occasionally in a situation where they might have a perceived conflict of interest. In these situations, the board member would declare a perceived conflict of interest and not vote on the issue. NEOEDD prohibits board members or their families from applying for loan funds while active on the board and for two years following the conclusion of board service. The board members and staff are all aware of this restriction and staff would not process a loan application if the business was owned by a board member or former board member who met this criteria.”

“NEOEDDD hired the Local Government Personnel Institute to identify similar organizations in Oregon and establish comparable wages for all employees in the fall of 2017. The Executive Committee reviewed the salary survey and made a plan to increase salaries for nearly all staff as salaries were generally under the minimum amounts paid at other organizations. The salary survey is updated annually by increasing the comparable salaries by the increase in the Consumer Price Index. In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the National Association of Development Organizations completed a comprehensive salary study that reported salaries nationwide and by organization size and region. These salary amounts were compared to the salary schedule used by NEOEDD. NEOEDD salary ranges were in the general range of comparable organizations.”

“NEOEDD's budget documents are available on our website. NEOEDD's audits are submitted to the Government Audit Clearinghouse and the Oregon Secretary of State. NEOEDD's 990 will also be placed on our website - www.neoedd.org. Other financial and policy documents are available on request.”