Regional planning commissions say they meet statutory duties but call for staffing, streamlined contracting and new governance options

Peter Gregory and Devin Neary presented a statutory assessment of Vermont's regional planning commissions to the Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee, reporting that RPCs are broadly meeting current statutory responsibilities but need additional staff capacity, improved coordination with state agencies, and a stronger central association to support shared services.

Gregory, who identified himself as executive director of the 2 Rivers Adequiche Regional Commission (serving Windsor and Orange counties), said an assessment conducted by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO/NATO in transcript) and supported by questionnaires and interviews found governance and program delivery to be generally sound but stretched. "The report found that we actually are doing a really good job, of governance and that we, have fairly good representation that's broad," he said.…