Issue of the Month: Grand Valley Metropolitan Council

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC) was formed in 1990 to be a place where area governments of all types could work together to enhance the quality of life for citizens of West Michigan. It started with 13 members, and today there are 35 governments entities representing 650,000 residents doing regional collaborative efforts together. The GVMC is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for West Michigan and is responsible for planning the expenditures of $100 Million state and federal monies on all modes of transportation. The benefits to a government entity being a member include (1) participating in the decisions of MPO and having a say in area transportation improvements; (2) working together on state and national legislative advocacy; (3) implementing the Regional Geographic Information System (REGIS) (see my newsletter of last month about access to REGIS now being free to all citizens); (4) being part of the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds, and (5) being part of implementation of other instances of local and regional governmental collaboration. The GVMC recently was designated as the organization to lead the Governor’s efforts to consolidate our states’ 55 different regions into ten large regions to cover all government business. This will be a two year project. The operational and staffing costs of GVMC are funded by dues payments from participating members.