12.         ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

12.1.                    The “SocioEconomic Profile of Boundary County” produced by the Sonoran Institute’s Economic Profile System, reveal the following highlights in trends charted between 1970 and 2003:

q          Population growth during that period (84%) was somewhat fast.

q          Employment growth (3,083 new jobs) was somewhat fast.

q          Personal income growth (2.3% annually) was roughly average.

q          Non-labor income share of total in 2003 (41.8%) was somewhat high.

q          The median age in Boundary County (38.3 years) is roughly average.

q          Per capita income in 2003 ($18,542) was somewhat low, and when adjusted for inflation, has not changed since 1970.

q          Average earnings per job in 2003 (after adjustment for inflation, falling from $32,058 in 1970 to $24,783 in 2003) were somewhat low.

q          The education rate (percentage of population 25 and over with college degrees; unspecified) is roughly average.

q          The ratio of rich to poor (number of households earning less than $30,000 for every household earning over $1000,000; 14.5:1) was somewhat high.

q          Housing affordability (ability of a family earning a median income to purchase a median house) has declined.

q          The government share of total employment (20.7%) was somewhat high.

q          The 2004 unemployment rate (6.9%) was somewhat high.

12.2.                    Perhaps the most striking facts to emerge from economic analysis spanning three decades from 1970 to 2000 is the sharp growth in non-labor income, which includes investment and retirement income. The proportion of income derived from these sources rose from 22.9-percent of new personal income generated in Boundary County in 1970 to 41.8-percent of new personal income generated in 2000, by far the largest source of new personal income in the county. By comparison, new personal income derived from farm and agriculture services accounted for 10.9-percent of personal income generated in 1970, dropping to 4.4-percent by 2000, showing the largest decline of any of the industries charted.

12.3.                    Also showing significant growth during this period was new income generated by government (federal, state and local), which at $12-million accounted for 13.2-percent in 1970 and grew to $35-million in 2000, accounting for 19.5% of total new personal income generated.

12.4.                    From 1977 to 1997, 198 new businesses were established in Boundary County. By industry, the biggest gains in total business share came in the construction and services sectors, while the biggest declines came in retail and manufacturing sectors.

12.5.                    Small businesses are predominant in Boundary County, with enterprises employing between one and four people comprising approximately 70% of total businesses in 2003; the same percentage seen in 1983 after a drop in 1993. Businesses employing five to nine people rose in 1993, accounting for just over 20% of all business, but fell in 2003 to about 18%, which is slightly higher than it was in 1983. Businesses employing between 10 to 19 employees comprise about 5% of all businesses in 2003, and 95% of all businesses in Boundary County employ fewer than 20 employees.

12.6.                    While much has been said about the need to diversify Boundary County’s economic base, studies show that in 2000, compared to the national median, Boundary County is slightly more economically diverse than most. The national mean measures 961, while Boundary County’s employment diversity index ranking is 903, the lower the number, the greater the indication of diversity.

12.7.                    From 1970 to 2003, Boundary County’s population grew by 4,649 people, an 84% increase in population, with the greatest increase among those aged 40 to 54 years old. The age group showing the greatest decline was among those between 30 to 39 years of age, indicating that Boundary County is attracting those who are retired or near retirement age, while losing those in their prime earning years. Between 1989 and 1999, the number of households earning less than $10,000 per year declined from 580 to 476, but this category still comprises the majority of households. During the same period, the number of households earning $150,000 or more per year increased ten-fold, from seven in 1989 to 70 in 1999. The largest increase in household income came in the range of households earning between $50,000 and $59,999, growing from 163 in 1989 to 393 in 1999.

12.8.                    Boundary County created 3,083 new jobs between 1970 and 2003, with 69% of those jobs being wage and salary and 31% percent belonging to proprietors. Overall personal income has climbed at an annual rate of 2.3%, but while those earning wage and salaries (employees) climbed at an annual rate of 2.4%, the personal income of the proprietors (employers), fell at an annual rate of 1.3%. Proprietors represent 30% of Boundary County’s total employment, but bring in only 8% of total income.

12.9.                    Average earnings per job, the total wages earned divided by the number of people working and adjusted for inflation, have fallen from $32,058 in 1970 to $24,783 in 2003. Per capita income rose only slightly, from approximately $16,000 in 1970 to about $18,542 in 1999. Adjusted for inflation, there has been no change in per capita income in two decades.

12.10.                The majority of growth in government employment in Boundary County between 1970 and 2003 came in state and local government, which accounted for 90% of government growth, rising from approximately 300 positions in 1970 to just over 900 jobs in 2003. Military personnel remained steady at fewer than 90, while federal and civilian government workers rose from just under 100 to just under 200. With the increase in the Homeland Security presence in Boundary County, federal government employment is expected to sharply increase. While government employment has grown, the percentage of total employment has remained stable, accounting for about 22%. In terms of population, there were eight government employees per 100 people in 1970, compared to 11 per 100 in 2003.

12.11.                Of all categories of private sector industry and business surveyed, the highest paying sector in Boundary County in 2003 was manufacturing, accounting for 17.3% of total employment and paying an average of $30,936 per year. The largest employment sector in 2003 was Trade, Transportation and Utility, account for 21.6% of total employment and paying an average of $22,052 per year.

12.12.                Between 1985 and 2005, Boundary County’s unemployment rate stayed consistently above state and national levels, except in the mid-1980s, when it equaled both at about 5%. In February, 2005, Boundary County’s unemployment rate was 6.3%, the ninth highest unemployment rate in Idaho. The following month, CEDU schools in Boundary County closed, putting nearly 300 people out of work. In February, 2006, the county’s unemployment rate stood at 7.6%, the second highest in Idaho.

12.13.                Approximately 585 county residents between the ages of 16 and 64 have disabilities that prevent them from working, 9.8% of the county’s available work force, compared to 13.2% nationally. Another 1,360 county residents have some kind of disability, but have found places in our work force.

12.14.                The great majority of people in the work force who live in Boundary County also work here. Of a total of 3,830 employed county residents in 2000, 3,310 work in Boundary County, 322 in Bonner County, 64 in other Idaho counties, 10 in Lincoln County, Montana, 76 in Washington, and three in Canada. There are also 276 people who live in Bonner County who commute to Boundary County to work, 50 from other Idaho counties, 134 from Lincoln County, Montana, two from other Montana counties, 14 from Spokane County, Washington, and four from other states who come to Boundary County to work.

12.15.                Bonners Ferry is the economic hub of Boundary County, with 364 employers in 2005 providing 2,791 jobs. Both figures are up from 2002, when there were 322 employers and 2,488 jobs. While the number of employers in both Naples and Moyie Springs rose between 2002 and 2005, the number of jobs in both areas declined. The number of employers in Eastport fell by one between 2002 and 2005, from 10 to 9, but the number of jobs increased from 48 to 82. In Porthill, two employers were added, from 8 to 10, and the number of jobs increased by 11, from 88 in 2002 to 99 in 2005.

12.16.                To maintain up-to-date demographic data, “Boundary County Work Force Trends,” published by the Idaho Department of Commerce, is incorporated as an appendix to this comprehensive plan, and should be updated at least once per year that this comprehensive plan remains in effect.

Chapter 13, Land Use a