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NECCOG outlines TRIP rule changes, advances GIS transition and regional grant resources
Summary
At its Sept. 27 meeting, the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (NECCOG) reported changes to the TRIP transportation grant program — including a required 20% municipal match and acceptance of in-kind municipal services — and described a planned transition of its GIS viewer and new regional grant resources.
At its Sept. 27 meeting the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments reported major changes to the Transportation Improvement Program (TRIP) application rules and updates to regional GIS and grant resources. NECCOG staff said the TRIP program will require a 20% match made with municipal funds, though Distressed Municipalities and Public Investment Communities are exempt. In-kind municipal services may be used as the match, the staff said, but must be municipal funds rather than private contributions.
NECCOG staff said the TRIP application structure has been simplified to a yes/no format focused on onsite or user-group characteristics and that an unintended bike-and-ped emphasis has been removed from scoring. The plan now allows multiple region-level submissions but restricts each eligible municipality to a single application. Staff noted that towns that applied under the prior criteria will need to reapply under the revised rules.
On GIS, staff said the region will distribute OPM Parcel and CAMA Improvement Grant funds through councils of governments and is beginning a transition of its GIS viewer from Geocortex to VertiGIS Studio; 2023 aerial imagery data is expected to be available this fall. NECCOG also noted that the EDA Covid Recovery CEDS hubsite is live and that the Central Mass & Northeastern CT Region Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) processes are underway, including a public survey for plan development.
Why it matters: The TRIP rule changes alter local match requirements and application procedures that determine which municipal projects are eligible for state transportation grant funding, potentially affecting town-level project planning and budgets. The GIS upgrades and parcel data improvements are intended to support planning, permitting, and grant applications across member towns.
What NECCOG recorded: staff summarized the TRIP policy changes, the Parcel/CAMA grant distribution plan, the GIS viewer migration, the EDA CEDS hubsite launch, and the CPRG/CCAP outreach steps. NECCOG did not record a roll-call vote for these informational items; they were described in the body report to members.
