History
Regional councils benefit leaders in the community both elected and not, as well as the citizenry, in the way that these councils foster regional economic competitiveness. Regional councils work to address the many issues that communities are facing today, oftentimes these issues are those that are critical to a community's overall well being including transportation, air quality and water quality.
Addressing regional issues such as the aforementioned, can be a difficult task. For this reason collaboration among the public, civic, nonprofit and private sectors in various types of regional organizations has remained extremely appealing for those communities wishing to remain competitive at the regional level.
Typically a region can contain several different kinds of regional organizations. One of which is the regional council of government. A regional council of government is a broad based, voluntary public organization that aids local member governments through a variety of services, through its role as a regional forum, and through a comprehensive work program. Many early regional councils evolved from the private, nonprofit regional planning organizations of the 1920s, and even more were formed in the years following World War II.
Federal legislation passed in the mid 1960s and early 1970s laid the groundwork for the formation of most regional councils. This legislation was inclusive of federal programs for comprehensive planning as well as intergovernmental cooperation. By 1977 it was estimated that the Federal government was providing approximately 75% of regional council budgets. This figure however, dropped dramatically by 1988 as federal funding was cut sharply, and it is estimated to have accounted for only 45% of regional council budgets at this time.
As of 1998 the National Association of Regional Councils directory lists 501 councils in 48 states This is a decrease of nearly 20% from 1976, which in part is due to regional councils absorbing sub-regional councils or combining with councils in adjoining regions. Of these 501 regional councils, it is reported that: 322 are designated as economic development districts, 304 serve as review agencies for applications for state or federal funding, 245 conduct land use planning, 277 allocate federal and state revolving loan funds for wastewater and drinking water facilities, 181 conduct regional transportation planning as MPO's (Metropolitan Planning Organizations) and 163 provide services for the elderly.
Read more about this topic: North Carolina Councils Of Governments
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The whole history of civilisation is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“It’s not the sentiments of men which make history but their actions.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)