Senate Subcommittee on Forestry,

Conservation and Rural Revitalization

March 8, 2000

Washington, DC

Mr. Bill Graham

Mayor, City of Scottsburg, Indiana

Chair, Indiana Rural Development Council

Executive Committee Chair, National Rural Development Partnership

Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I am Bill Graham, and I'm here today wearing several hats: I am the Mayor of the City of Scottsburg, Indiana, a community of 6,300 people; I am Chairman of the Indiana Rural Development Council; and I am Chair of the Executive Committee of the National Rural Development Partnership. I want to give you an overview of how the work of the Partnership supports the Indiana Council, and how these organizations benefit communities like Scottsburg.

National Partnership Provides Foundation for Success

The National Rural Development Partnership (NRDP) is a wonderful organization for our state and for my community. It has the unique ability to connect the efforts of federal agencies by coordinating resources. All of these agencies have programs that benefit the quality of life in rural America. The work of the NRDP is exceptional, however, because no other structure exists to provide coordination of these services to the state and local levels.

Along with federal agencies, the partnership brings in representatives of state, local and tribal governments, as well as the private sector. All partners come to the table as equals, and participate in decision making. We are also equals in doing the work and in celebrating or successes. We are not about taking credit, but instead we work together for mutual benefits for all. The NRDP does not advocate for new programs or bigger government. Instead, we focus on building bridges using this foundation to make better rural communities across this country.

The Partnership provides a forum that allows us to network with our counterparts from around the country. This network results in sharing the experiences and good examples that take place in each member state. Being a member of the partnership provides a license to steal these good ideas and practices. I have taken many ideas home from national and state meetings, and put them to use to make my community a better place.

As you heard from earlier testimony, five federal agencies make financial contributions to the partnership. These resources provide a start for our activities, but the job is not finished. The national partnership should have representation from all 50 states, not just the 36 active councils. Limited resources minimize our effectiveness. And we need full federal participation from all agencies providing services in rural areas.

Our communities and states look to the national partnership for leadership through tough issues. It is important that we continue to provide these services for the betterment of our rural areas.

Back Home Again in Indiana

Before I describe the partnership's effects in my home state, let me give you some background information on rural Indiana. Thirty-five percent (35%) of our 5.8 million residents live in rural areas. About two-thirds of Indiana's 92 counties are considered rural. When you look at per capita incomes, as a state, Indiana's incomes are lower than the national per capita income. But this disparity is greater in our rural areas: Urban Indiana's per capita income is about 94% of the US average, while Indiana's rural income was less than 82% of the US average.

The Indiana Rural Development Council is the only statewide entity working exclusively to alleviate the disparities in rural Indiana. The concept of this Council is based on partnerships. The IRDC is a partnership of local, state, federal, profit and not-for-profit stakeholders that support Indiana communities. IRDC's purpose is to coordinate the efforts of citizens and governments to meet the economic and social needs of rural Indiana.

The Council does not operate as a state agency, nor are we a federal agency. Our Council operates at the discretion of the leadership of our governing board, which is comprised of 28 representatives from each of the 5 sectors. We also add state legislative appointments and we've recently added representatives from our US Senators and Congressional offices.

The Council is not a funding source for communities. We operate on $87,000 a year, which comes from the US Dept. of Agriculture. In order to obtain this money, the state matches at least 25% of the federal dollars, and in the past this has been met through in-kind contributions from the Commissioner of Agriculture's budget, and through participation from our partners on our Council activities.

Current Tools and Program:

The work of the Council is done through task forces. Some of the works of these task forces include:

The Environmental Infrastructure Working Group has been very successful in helping communities identify potential funding sources for water and wastewater projects. We bring together representatives of various state and federal agencies and they meet with communities one on one to discuss all funding options for their projects at one time. This optimizes the efforts of both the communities and the agencies. Last year this group assisted 36 communities from throughout the state.

We also have a Housing Task Force. In 1999, this group developed a structure similar to the environmental group that assists communities in researching all of their housing assistance options. Known as IHART, the Indiana Housing Assistance Review Team will help applicants identify partners who can assist in providing affordable, safe and sanitary housing.

The Community Visitation Program has assisted six communities, and we plan to visit 5 more in 2000. The Community Visits allow a team of resource providers to listen to elected officials as well as community residents to allow key problem areas and resource needs to surface in an informal, open setting. Rural communities, although they may be about the same size, differ greatly when it comes to needs. We provided a handbook to the elected officials reporting not only what we heard throughout the visit, but also listed the resources available to them if they wish to initiate action on any of these issues.

Working in coordination with the state's Human Resource Investment Council, or Rural Communities at Work task force is developing a working model that rural officials can use to help them determine their needs regarding welfare and workforce issues. The model will include auxiliary components of working families such as childcare, transportation, housing and health care. After the model is tested and modified, this tool will be rolled out to local decision makers for implementation throughout the state.

Representatives of the Council meet regularly to discuss the issues and programs affecting our state. These open communication channels alone justify my involvement. Statewide networks allow local officials to meet all players and resources throughout the partnerships. On our own, we have no way to gain all of this information in one setting or without missing some elements.

Many more of the successes of the IRDC can be found in our 1999 Annual Report, which is submitted to federal, state and local officials across Indiana to educate them about the work of the Council and the effectiveness of this collaboration.

But as in many states, there are additional needs not being addressed in rural Indiana. Not all rural communities have affordable and reliable access to telecommunication networks. Rural incomes still lag behind urban incomes. Job creation and retention is hampered because of infrastructure deficiencies. Community planning efforts in many rural areas are not inclusive of land use issues. With additional resources, the Indiana Rural Development Council could work towards addressing these needs.

Life as a Local Mayor

Each rural community elects its mayor, town council and clerk-treasurer to make decisions on their behalf. And as local leaders, we must be committed to our communities, because everyday we see how our local residents are affected by the decisions we make. I need to justify my commitment to the national and state partners to my local constituents.

The City of Scottsburg is not much different from other rural communities in southern Indiana. The issues I have to address vary from week to week, and I never know what to expect. To prove this point, I brought along the most recent edition of the "The Giveaway", our local weekly newspaper:

Page 1: Workforce Center is designated as "One-Stop Center" for support services in Scott County;

Page 5: Domestic situation results in shooting at local school and liquor store - 2 dead;

Page 9: Purdue Extension service offers stress management workshop for farmers and rural residents.

Special insert: "2000 Basketball Mania Preview. (Well, it is Indiana!)

There is no educational degree or training I can get to prepare me for dealing with these issues. No state or federal government agency can provide all of the services we need to assist our communities with all these things. To be effective, local leaders need to network to find the proper resources to assist them. The national partnership, through the work of the state councils, provides this non-partisan forum to interface with different sectors to help us find solutions to our problems. This is critical to our small towns.

One of the most pressing issues that I've faced in Scottsburg has been workforce development and training. Local industries wanted to grow, but were unable to find workers to meet their needs. At the same time, many available workers were unemployed because of a lack of skills training. Our solution has been the Scott County Partnership, which brings together private industry, education and public service providers to find local solutions to these issues. My experience with national and state partnerships, and their methods of finding innovate solutions, served as a perfect model for this local success story.

Another project we have embarked upon is still in progress, but has the potential to serve as a model for other communities. Through our state network, we identified a community in northern Indiana that is facing similar issues and opportunities as those in Scottsburg. We entered into a "Sister City" relationship with this community, and the early results are exciting! The arrangement calls for community leaders and personnel from Scottsburg to meet with their counterparts in the other community. By sharing problems, solutions and concerns, both communities are looking forward to overall benefits that our rural residents will appreciate for years to come.

Conclusion

All community development, and most economic development, happens locally. The National Rural Development Partnership and the Indiana Rural Development Council have provided tools to enable me to make decisions that help my community. They are proven models of effective government because they capitalize on the synergy of collaboration to get things done in my community, and across rural America. I thank you for your time and attention.