Business View Civil & Municipal l November 2022

33 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 NEWBERG, OREGON “Housing prices have not kept pace with the cost of housing which is an issue we are addressing,” says Rogers. Like many other communities throughout the U.S., employers in and around Newberg have had a difficult time filling new positions and even maintaining staffing levels needed for operational efficiency. Newberg is home to two of the largest dental equipment manufacturers in the U.S., DCI, and A-dec, making the city the “dental equipment capital of America.” Those businesses, along with Providence Newberg Medical Center, George Fox University, and other employers have received money from the Oregon State Legislature and other resources to fund recruiting efforts designed to attract new employees. “We’re working with developers and others to partner on ways to increase our options for affordable housing, “ Rogers explains. Recent studies have indicated that about 50 percent of Newberg’s residents travel out of the city for work, while 40 percent of those working in Newberg live outside city limits. “Those numbers are not what we want to see because we want more of our residents living and working here,” Rogers adds. “That is directly related to affordable housing.” The interest and continued need for volunteers to support the community’s many churches and charities plays a role as well. “Volunteers are enormous and I see in my role every day (at Habitat for Humanity) how critical they are. We