The Central Texas Council of Government (CTCOG) is a misnomer as the agency is really not a governmental agency. The CTCOG is more like a governmental assistance group, formed by law almost 70 years ago to help local government provide so many of the needed community services. The CTCOG consists of seven counties in Central Texas and Milam County is one of the charter members. The officers of the CTCOG are elected from within the group and the primary offices are located in Belton.
In our area, the CTCOG provides assistance to so many people in so many ways. For example, representatives from the CTCOG were in Commissioners Court this week explaining how they can help low income people with rental assistance. The CTCOG helps with elders in need of at-home or nursing home assistance, provides essential transportation planning, keeps us safe through emergency and security programs and regional planning.
The CTCOG has a staff of about 150 and an annual budget of about $70 million. Most of the funding goes back to the counties and cities that belong to the CTCOG. The CTCOG has been extremely helpful to Milam County in the last three years, helping us obtain grants and other assistance with so many of the important projects going on in the county.
The CTCOG is critical to Milam County as it offers so many areas of assistance that the county simply cannot afford. Through multiple programs and projects, such as 9-1-1 Emergency Communications, Homeland Security, Hazard Mitigation, Criminal Justice Training and Central Texas Emergency Services, it provides professional services to help protect and enable our communities.
The Central Texas Aging, Disability and Veterans Resource Center is a single point of entry to access support programs and benefits and serves as a highly visible, trusted and valued place where people of all incomes and ages can turn for information on the full range of long-term support options based upon individual choice. Frankly, the list goes on and on.
Since becoming your County Judge I have been active with the CTCOG and I am proud to have been recently elected to serve as the Second Vice President. In fact, this week the Executive Director of the CTCOG, Jim Reed, attended the Commissioners Court meeting and attended the Cameron Lions Club meeting to give a short update on some of the CTCOG activities in the county. He spoke of the progress we have made in the county with new jobs and new businesses and that the county’s growth rate would increase from a negative 1.2% to an estimated 2% - 3% growth rate over the next decade.
To find out more about the services the CTCOG offers, simply give me a call at 713-253-9600 or contact the CTCOG directly at 254-770-2200. Working with the CTCOG over the last three years has had a major, positive impact here in Milam County.
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