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. (Peter Gregory, executive director, 2 Rivers Adequiche Regional Commission)

Devin Neary of the Rutland Regional Planning Commission described the study's engagement approach: two large surveys (58 board-member responses and 200 municipal responses) plus one-on-one interviews with board chairs. "We did 2 large, surveys and engagement efforts. The survey effort received a 58 board member responses, and the municipal, survey, received 200 responses," Neary said. (Devin Neary, Rutland Regional Planning Commission)

Findings and recommendations - Governance and a possible COG model: The assessment recommended exploring a transition to a council-of-governments model to expand shared services and create an elected-official board with clearer contracting authority when member municipalities opt in. Presenters said a COG model is used in other states to provide a broader set of substate services, such as transit or solid-waste management.

- Staffing and association support: The report urged creating a staff position (part-time or full-time) for the statewide association (VAPTA/BAFTA in testimony) to coordinate contracting with state agencies, provide quality control, and reduce reliance on rotating volunteer director time. Presenters said they are already evaluating feasibility and hope to have such support in place in fiscal year 2026.

- Streamlined state contracting: Presenters asked state agencies to treat RPCs as political subdivisions rather than vendors in some procurement processes, to avoid duplicative bidding steps and reduce administrative costs and delays.

- Program delivery, equity and accountability: The assessment found RPCs provide valuable services across transportation, water/sewer, environmental justice and housing planning, and are improving equity-focused engagement. Presenters emphasized the RPCs' role in Act 250 mapping and tiered development work and said all RPCs expect to have required planning materials submitted to the Land Use Review Board by the statutory deadline.

What was not decided No formal committee action was recorded in the excerpt. Presenters asked for legislative support for the governance and contracting recommendations; committee members expressed interest in coordinating the assessment's findings with ongoing legislative task forces on regional governance and other bills in committee.

Context and next steps Presenters said they are already pursuing several recommendations: evaluating a VAPTA staff position, coordinating more routine check-ins with state agencies (VTrans, ACCD, VEM, DEC), and supporting municipal Act 250/tiered development engagements. Committee members asked for follow-up briefings as bills and task-force work on regional governance progress.