Councils of Governments by Tom Benecki

Tom Benecki (second from left) joined the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments (AVNCOG) as Executive Director in 1991. The AVNCO G is a voluntary association of fourteen municipal governments and two authorities in the northeastern corner of Allegheny County. Benecki's presentation focused on Councils of Governments, or COGs, in Allegheny County of which there are eight. Allegheny County is unusual, according to Benecki, because of the amount of incorporation of individual municipalities, but also because the COGs have a formal organization that they all belong to, the Allegheny InterCOG Council, where they can work closely together and discuss regional issues. Benecki explained that the COGs provide services specific to the wants and needs of their member municipalities, and stressed that COGs are not another layer of government. COGs are a voluntary municipal association to serve their member municipalities. Benecki elaborated on four classes of programs that are well-subscribed to by member municipalities in COGs across the state because they have proven to be successful: joint purchasing, grant administration, shared equipment, and shared services. Benecki stated that he believes these programs are so successful because of the economies of scale that can be achieved. Benecki also described some failures of COGs. For example, the sewer maintenance and cleaning program and police consolidation programs were failures at the AVNCOG.