Regional planning commissions tell Natural Resources & Energy panel they are on track for statutory planning deadlines but face funding and staffing strain

Leaders of Vermont's 11 regional planning commissions briefed the Natural Resources & Energy Committee on Jan. 17 about their role helping towns with planning, permitting and project delivery, and said they remain on schedule to update regional plans by the end of 2026 under a statute tied to last year’s housing and land-use legislation.

The regional planning commissions (RPCs) described themselves as “political subdivisions of the state” that provide technical assistance to all municipalities, help towns access federal and state grants, and act as a bridge between local governments and agencies. Charla Baker, executive director of the Chenney County Regional Planning Commission, told the committee: “We only have money to pay our staff if there's a grant agreement from an agency, specific tasks that we're supposed to do with deliverables, and we don't get paid if we do that work.”

That funding structure, Baker said, creates persistent staffing constraints. “We never have enough staff to do the work that our town needs us to do and that the state has us to do,” she said, noting RPC budgets come almost entirely from federal and state grants with town dues representing roughly 5–7% of revenue.

Why it matters: RPCs serve as the primary technical support for municipal planning across the state and play a central role implementing changes from…