Overview

Our Mission
The Piedmont Triad Council of Governments (PTCOG) is a voluntary association of local governments - urban and rural - authorized by state law to: make and implement joint regional decisions; provide management, planning and technical services to local governments; identify and solve short and long-term problems best addressed at the regional level; and to bring together local elected officials on a regular basis, giving them an opportunity to form working relationships.

Area Served and Membership
The PTCOG is one of 17 regional councils in North Carolina. State law enables local governments in areas designated by the Governor to voluntarily form councils of governments. The seven counties in this region are: Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph and Rockingham. All counties in the region are members of the COG as are most municipalities in the region. There is a total membership of 43 local governments.

Services
The PTCOG is strongly service oriented; its programs are driven by membership needs. Offerings and services to member governments and the region include: preparing land use plans, zoning ordinances, and annexation studies; providing personnel classification, pay studies and personnel policies; expanding and maintaining the services of the Regional Data Center for member governments and a variety of private sector clients; producing GIS maps (geographic information system) to support a variety of planning activities; managing a regional telecommunications program which helps member governments regulate cable TV rates, negotiate franchise agreements and keep abreast of emerging telecommunications issues; providing planning and training for county emergency medical services staffs; playing a role in other regional organizations such as the Piedmont Triad Partnership, Piedmont Triad Farmers' Market, and Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation; and administering the Area Agency on Aging which provides planning and administrative assistance for regional and local programs for the elderly including adult day care, care management, transportation, congregate and home-delivered meals, and ombudsman services for residents of rest and nursing homes.

Budget
The operating budget is approximately $1.2 million. Over half of the revenue comes from member government dues and income earned from technical assistance to member governments. Other income is derived from federal and state funds paid to the PTCOG for planning and administering regional aging and emergency medical services programs. North Carolina councils of governments, including the PTCOG, receive only one direct legislative appropriation of $48,000. In this region, these funds are primarily used to support PTCOG's Regional Data Center.

In addition to its operating budget, the PTCOG passes through over $4.9 million to counties and nonprofits for services to the elderly (adult day care, care management, transportation, in-home services, senior center operations, congregate and home delivered meals, etc.)