State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

                          Contact Information for Regional Councils of Governments in Connecticut

Planning Regions and Regional Councils of Governments

Connecticut’s nine (9) planning regions provide a geographic framework within which municipalities can jointly address common interests and coordinate such interests with state plans and programs.  CGS Section 16a-4a authorizes the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to designate or redesignate the boundaries of logical planning regions.

CGS Section 4-124j authorizes the member municipalities of each planning region to establish a formal regional governance structure known as a council of governments (COG).   

Municipality List by Planning Regional and Regional Council of Government 

2020 Census Population by Planning Region

Planning Region County Equivalency

Background

In August 2019, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw requested the U.S. Census Bureau’s approval of a proposal to recognize Connecticut’s nine planning regions as the statistical equivalent of counties for the purpose of tabulating and publishing future Census data.  Read Secretary McCaw's letter to the U.S. Census Bureau.

On December 14, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau published notice of the proposal in the Federal Register with the expectation that, following a 60-day public comment period, the proposal would be adopted and go into effect for all official Census Bureau statistical and geospatial data products starting in 2023. Upon such adoption, COGs will also be recognized as “county-equivalents” for the purpose of applying for federal grants that are open to counties.

On June 6, 2022, the final Federal Register Final Notice for the change to county-equivalents was published.  This notice serves as a final response to all comments received to the Proposed Notice published in the Federal Register on December 14, 2020.  The Final Notice is the Census Bureau's final announcement that Connecticut's request will be implemented and urges all stakeholders to immediately prepare for any impacts related to the adoption of planning regions as county-equivalents on data collection.

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Contact:  Rebecca.Augur@ct.gov   860.418.6343