Sherman County, OR

Wind revenue -> annual resident dividend + small-biz housing boosts

Problem

Good ideas lack funding. Traditional grants are competitive, slow, and restrict local control. Communities can't rely solely on outside money.

Solution

Sherman County, Oregon (population 1,870 in 2020) pays a $590 Resident Incentive to one adult per household each year under a County Court ordinance adopted July 15, 2009, funded from 'a portion of the funds generated from local wind tower projects'; applications are mailed in early June, due August 31, and checks go out by mid-December. The county also runs MCEDD-administered housing grants ($10,000 per new rental unit and others) and an Enterprise Zone for non-retail businesses. Three Sherman County wind farms are Oregon Strategic Investment Program projects that pay community service fees of 25 percent of their tax savings, but no fetched source states that the resident dividend is funded from those SIP fees specifically.

Patterns used: Commons Finance Toolkit

Read more success stories