It’s been more than 15 years since a conglomeration of cities in the region began meeting to — as Redmond Mayor George Endicott describes it — “show the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” Central Oregon Cities Organization has a membership of nine, represented by mayors, city managers, councilors or other representatives who gather monthly to network, share concerns and work together on common challenges.

“It’s very unique. As far as I know it’s the only one in the state,” said Doug Riggs, a lobbyist working with COCO since its inception. “Leadership has changed and new people have come and gone but there always seems to be a consensus that the organization has value.”

Similar in structure to the League of Oregon Cities — where Endicott is the immediate past president — COCO serves as an advocacy group for communities east of the Cascades, sharing information and lobbying for issues where everyone has a stake.

“Unity carries a lot of weight,” Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe said. “If I went to Salem on my own I might or might not get in to see legislators. But in a group, they give us the time of day.”

COCO members — currently Redmond, Madras, Prineville, Culver, La Pine, Bend, Maupin, Metolius and Sisters — pay dues based on population, Endicott explained. Except for hosting a few events in Central Oregon and Salem designed to provide networking opportunities for legislators and members, the bulk of the budget goes to Riggs and hosting teleconferences during the legislative sessions.

This year the city of Bend opted to pull some of its funding out of COCO and for the first time, hire its own lobbyist.

According to Bend Mayor Pro Tem Jodie Barram, the city made the move because Bend seems to have enough unique issues to warrant its own lobbyist, but the city still believes in the mission of COCO.

“It’s a huge help for the region,” she said. “We get to understand the diversity of all the communities in our area and have each other’s projects front of mind so we can more easily see how we can coordinate efforts.”

Issues commonly discussed at COCO meetings including transportation, water and land use. According to Riggs, the organization first formed over the increase of water-rights issues in the late 1990s, but it has since broadened its focus to other challenges faced by all member cities.

“We’re pragmatic. We take things in bite-sized pieces, but we’ve managed to be a leader in several areas,” he said. “We’ve passed seven different (pieces of legislation) regarding the Deschutes Water Basin alone.”

It’s all about commonalities, Endicott and Roppe agree.

“Water is one of the biggest issues in our region,” Roppe said. “It impacts all the communities.”

And nearly every community in Central Oregon has a state highway running through it, Endicott pointed out, necessitating a lot of discussion and negotiation with the Oregon Department of Transportation. “What you do transportation-wise in one community affects the next one down the road and so on,” he said.

At meetings, city representatives update one another on many things — union negotiations, annexations, budgets, infrastructure, economic development — sharing solutions and continuing frustrations in hopes their neighbor might benefit from the information.

“Redmond can’t compete with Salem or Portland, but COCO can,” Endicott said. “This way we have the ear of many legislators, not just one.”

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, lpugmire@bendbulletin.com