Highlights of the General Assembly

At last week's Fall General Assembly, SEMCOG members engaged in roundtable discussions on a number of regional topics. Here are some of the key points we heard. We'll use these points to help formulate our 2007-2008 work program.

• Need to promote post-secondary education — vocational job skills and college.
• Need to position Southeast Michigan for knowledge-economy jobs through collaboration between government and education.
• Educational opportunities need to include lifelong training and retraining.
• Share best environmental practices throughout Southeast Michigan.
• Need to continue to educate the public on the benefits of investing in clean air and water.
• Educate citizens on the disconnect between the services they want from their local government and how much they're willing to pay (in taxes) to support those services.
• Need to explore regionalizing essential services, e.g., police and fire on a multi-community basis.
• Need to advocate for the ability of local governments to consider local option taxes (in recognition of the state's unwillingness to provide funding).
• Promote vibrant communities through diverse housing and transportation options.
  Advocate for additional transit funding.
• Educate both local government leaders and the public on the need and benefits for improved transit.
• Look for demonstration or pilot projects which provide opportunities for Southeast Michigan to experience rapid transit.
• Educate citizens on the funding challenges of our transportation system.
• Promote additional funding methods, including increase gas tax, local option taxes, participation by developers.

Contact: Kathleen Lomako, SEMCOG Deputy Executive Director.

New on www.semcog.org: SEMCOG's Data Resource Center

SEMCOG is pleased to present vital data and maps on Southeast Michigan in the Data Resource Center. It can be accessed from the home page of SEMCOG's Web site — www.semcog.org; look for the Data Resource Center button in the upper right. Currently, most of the data and maps available are transportation data, but other popular datasets (e.g., Community Profiles) are accessible here as well. These data play a key role in maintaining and enhancing Southeast Michigan's transportation system in the most efficient way possible. In the seven-county region, that transportation system includes 23,000 miles of public road and 3,551 bridges. In 2005, motorists traveled 48.8 billion miles on these roads. While transportation planners and engineers will find these data useful for analysis, resulting in timely and informed decisions, all users of Southeast Michigan's transportation system can find useful information here (e.g., traffic counts; traffic crash profiles by community, high-crash locations by community). Note to users of TIP Online — that database is now located within the Data Resource Center; click on the icon and follow the link that says, "Search Transportation Improvement Program Projects." Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

SEMCOG issues call for projects for 2007 and 2008 CMAQ program

SEMCOG has issued the call for projects for 2007 and 2008 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) for Southeast Michigan. CMAQ funds are intended to reduce vehicle emissions through a number of strategies, from replacement of older more polluting buses with newer cleaner buses to carpool and vanpool programs to creation of nonmotorized paths and bicycle projects.

Qualified applicants include county road commissions, cities, incorporated villages, and public transit agencies. Private entities, both nonprofit and for-profit, can apply for funding, but only under the sponsorship of one of the qualified applicants, which have already been mailed a CMAQ application package. Initial applications are due to SEMCOG by November 22, 2006. Applicants will then be e-mailed the emissions reduction worksheet appropriate to their project. This worksheet is due to SEMCOG by December 8, 2006.

Approximately $16 million in CMAQ funding is expected in both FY 2007 and 2008 for local CMAQ projects. This funding will be divided equally between transit and non-transit projects. Transit projects will be grouped regionally and ranked by their cost effectiveness and funding will be awarded until exhausted. Non-transit projects will first be grouped by county and then ranked regionally by cost effectiveness.

Contact: Steve Brudzinski, Policy Analyst, SEMCOG Transportation Programs.

SEMCOG University on collaboration among local governments will be held on November 15

Collaboration among Southeast Michigan governments and educational institutions and with the private sector is vital for our communities and region. SEMCOG University presents Collaboration: The Key to Success on Wednesday, November 15, 2006, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.) in SEMCOG’s Buhl Building office in downtown Detroit.

This workshop will address the fact that successful collaboration depends on a particular level of leadership and support. Dr. Lynn Harvey, national expert on collaboration, will share his thoughts and insight on the essential components of successful intergovernmental collaboration and public/private partnerships.

This SEMCOG University workshop is free-of-charge to SEMCOG members and partners; there is a $75 charge for nonmember local governments. Seating is limited, so you are encouraged to reserve a spot by Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Contact: Ken Bishop, SEMCOG Community and Economic Development Administrative Assistant, to RSVP. You can register online at www.semcog.org; the link to the workshop is under Planning Issues on the home page.

Population resources for Southeast Michigan available from SEMCOG

With the population of the United States surpassing 300 million in October, SEMCOG reminds its member local government of the population-related resources it offers:

• Population and Households in Southeast Michigan, 2000-2006. SEMCOG's annual population report discusses recent population and household changes in Southeast Michigan. Population and household estimates for July 2006 are compared to Census 2000 data and are provided for every county and community in the seven-county region. The report notes that Southeast Michigan gained 67,000 persons and 73,000 households from April 2000 to July 2006. Total population increased by 1.4 percent and households by four percent during this time period. This report can be accessed in PDF on SEMCOG's Web site.
• SEMCOG updates population data on its Web site monthly. Link to Monthly Population Estimates (middle button at top of home page).
• Historical Population and Employment by Minor Civil Division, Southeast Michigan. This report lists population for each county, city, township, and village in Southeast Michigan based on data from U.S. Censuses from 1900-2000. With all community population histories in one report for the first time, it is easy to see how the region developed over the past century. This report is also available in PDF on SEMCOG's Web site.

Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life.  Regional Update is a publication of SEMCOG, financed through funds from state and federal grants and dues from member communities. John F. Jones, Chairperson Supervisor, Ira Township Paul E. Tait, Executive Director  Susan L. Stetler, Editor  SEMCOG contact information:  Southeast Michigan Council of Governments 535 Griswold Street, Suite 300 Detroit, MI 48226-3602 313-961-4266 - Fax 313-961-4869 staff e-mail:lastname@semcog.org  www.semcog.org

Read past issues of SEMCOG's Regional Update

Local Governments Advancing Southeast Michigan