WCACOG

West Goshen Township has joined with East Bradford Township, East Goshen Township, Thornbury Township, West Chester Borough, and Westtown Township to form the West Chester Area Council of Governments (WCACOG). The council is not a new layer of government, but a forum for the participating local municipalities to meet at regular intervals to discuss and study community challenges of mutual interest and concern.

By establishing the West Chester Area Council of Governments, the participating agencies plan to address the following seven goals:

To serve as a mutual forum to identify, discuss, and bring into focus regional challenges and opportunities.
To serve as a vehicle for the collection and exchange of information of regional interest.
To provide a continuing organizational machinery to insure effective communication and coordination among governments and agencies.
To facilitate cooperative purchasing and buying agreements for projects of mutual benefit.
To create agreements and cooperative action proposals among member governments for specific projects or other interrelated developmental needs.
To maintain liaison with members, other governmental units, and private groups or organizations and to serve as regional spokesman for local governments when so authorized.
To review and coordinate federal, state, and local programs of regional importance.

Current initiatives underway include the proposal for a dedicated cable channel. This channel would provide public education programming, and would be used by participating governments to televise public meetings and to produce and air television programs to better provide residents with information about services, events, and other matters of community interest.

The West Chester Area Council of Governments plans to participate in the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Governments, a group dedicated to the efficient operations of governments throughout the Commonwealth through intergovernmental cooperation. For more information about the Pennsylvania Association of Councils of Government, visit www.pacog.com.