South Central Regional Council of Governments

06/12/2026

🚲 Thinking about riding an e-bike in Connecticut? Connecticut Department of Transportation's E-Bike Information Guide breaks down the differences between Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes, where they’re allowed, and the rules of the road to help everyone travel safely.

➡️Learn more about the CTDOT's Safe Routes program: https://portal.ct.gov/dot/programs/saferoutes?language=en_US

06/10/2026

🏘️Register now for this Tuesday's (6/16) Housing Communication Conversation with consultant Ben Fink on Housing Messaging & Communication!

Join this hands-on training to build skills in effective communication about housing, conservation, and local government in conversations, community gatherings, and municipal meetings.

➡️Register here: bit.ly/4vvHeTb
Tuesday, June 16th
12-1:30pm ET
Virtual

06/09/2026

💡Municipal Shared Services Prioritization Workshop | May 20-21

🏙️13 municipalities. 🫱🏽‍🫲🏼8 Chief Elected Officials. 🎯One goal: delivering better services for our residents through shared solutions.

SCRCOG and Raftelis convened leaders from 13 of SCRCOG's 15 member municipalities to prioritize shared-service solutions that can reduce costs, address workforce challenges, and strengthen local government across South Central Connecticut. 📌Read more about shared services and the workshop below.

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On May 20th and 21st, SCRCOG and Raftelis convened municipal leaders and staff from across South Central Connecticut for our Municipal Shared Services Prioritization Workshop hosted at Avangrid in Orange. Representatives from 13 of SCRCOG’s 15 member municipalities attended, including eight Chief Elected Officials, demonstrating a strong regional commitment to collaboration.

As a key milestone in SCRCOG’s Municipal Shared Services Study, the workshop brought local officials together to prioritize practical opportunities for regional service delivery and coordination.

❓What are shared services?

Shared services are municipal functions delivered collaboratively across communities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen service delivery. Discussion areas identified through extensive stakeholder engagement with our municipal leaders included:
• certified staff shortages
• finance
• public safety
• public works
• technology
• land use
• human and social services
• procurement
• education services
• solid waste management

Municipal leaders explored how greater regional coordination could help address fiscal pressures, workforce challenges, and other shared issues. Discussion focused on leveraging existing interlocal partnerships as practical models for expanding shared-service agreements and advancing new regional service initiatives.

👏Thank you to the team at Raftelis, including Michelle Ferguson, Ben Kittelson, and Beverly Foster, for their facilitation and continued work. Thank you to Al Carbone and Michael Anderson at Avangrid for hosting the space to make this workshop a success. The momentum generated over these two days will help turn from ideas to impact—strengthening municipal services and regional partnerships across South Central Connecticut.

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Pictured:
SCRCOG Executive Director Laura Francis, Solid Waste & Recycling Specialist Kate Wimsatt, Director of Regional Planning and Municipal Services Brendon Dukett, and Municipal Services Coordinator Sabrina Davis

06/04/2026

☀️The weather is heating up—and so are the temperatures inside parked vehicles 🌡️As part of SCRCOG’s Highway Safety Program summer safety campaign, we’re highlighting the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Safe Kids Connecticut's Where’s Baby? Program, which provides resources to help prevent child heatstroke deaths in vehicles.

Since 1990, more than 1,171 children have died in hot cars nationwide. We encourage our member municipalities and constituents to join us in raising awareness about hot car safety by sharing these resources and helping spread this critical safety message.

Together, we can raise awareness and help keep children safe this summer. 👀Remember to always check the back seat before locking your car!🚘

➡️Learn more about CTDOT's Child Passenger Safety Program here: https://portal.ct.gov/highwaysafetyoffice/traffic-safety-programs/child-passenger-safety?language=en_US and https://www.wheresbaby.org/

📌Follow along for more tips and updates from SCRCOG's Highway Safety Program!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBrh7CQ9wPg

The inside of a parked car heats up faster than you think. In as li...

06/03/2026

📌Join us for the relaunch of the regional Solid Waste & Recycling Working Group on Wednesday, June 17th from 10-11am! This virtual working group is open to municipal leaders, public works staff, recycling coordinators, and regional partners.

➡️Register now: bit.ly/4vp2lXj

06/03/2026

🎉Congratulations to Woodbridge, CT and Town of Branford, CT for their Spring 2026 Sustainable CT certifications! 🌿 We look forward to continuing to advance proactive sustainable practices and environmental stewardship within our region's municipalities.

06/02/2026

🚲🚶🏼‍➡️ What could your community do with $5,000 to make walking and biking safer? SCRCOG's Active Transportation Microgrant Program is accepting applications for Round 2 funding through June 17th!

Through funding provided by Connecticut Department of Transportation, eligible municipalities, schools, school districts, and nonprofits can receive 💰up to $5,000 💰with no match required for projects that promote safe, accessible mobility.

Past projects have included bike rodeos, bicycle safety education, bike and helmet giveaways, bike racks, repair toolkits, and school-based riding skills programs. Since launching, the program has distributed more than $100,000 to local initiatives.

➡️Learn more and apply in our region here: https://scrcog.org/now-open-2026-active-transportation-microgrants/

06/01/2026

❗Tomorrow (6/2) at 10-11am ❗
The World Cup isn’t the only opportunity for bronze 🥉, silver 🥈or gold 🥇with Sustainable CT's fall sustainability certification application opening soon! Join SCRCOG, CT Green Bank, and Sustainable CT tomorrow to learn about how your municipality can certify or re-certify as a sustainable community and how Green Bank offerings can earn points and strengthen your application. A Sustainable CT representative will be present.

➡️Register here: https://tinyurl.com/mtbx64t6

06/01/2026

On April 15th, SCRCOG participated in the The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut's🌳Urban and Community Peer Learning Exchange 🌳 for our region. Director of Regional Planning Brendon Dukett, Regional Planner Ian McElwee, and intern Matthew Rothchild shared about SCRCOG's recent work, including the 📌regional tree canopy study to be completed this month.

In partnership with the Connecticut Urban Forest Council, Sustainable CT, and Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) Urban and Community Forestry Program, the exchange gathered municipalities, partners, and community organizations to share and build transformative models for regional urban forestry. 🌱 In truest fashion, we also planted a tree at the Keefe Community Center in Hamden!

Thank you to all of our partners. Stay tuned for the final regional tree canopy report 👀

05/27/2026

🗺️Path to ImpaCT 2050: WHAT'S NEXT? 🗺️

As we wrap up the Path to ImpaCT 2050 sector snapshot series, read below to see what’s beyond sector strategies—and what comes next.

➡️Check out all snapshots: https://scrcog.org/climate-planning/
👇Drop a comment and let us know what you thought of the series
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ImpaCT 2050 is more than an emissions reduction plan. It’s a roadmap for municipalities, COGs, and partners to turn climate goals into action through implementation tools, funding pathways, workforce planning, and community-informed strategies.

🏆 Award-Winning MERPs
Municipal Emissions Reduction Playbooks (MERPs) provide tailored local strategies for New Haven County communities. The UMass LARP Master of Regional Planning student team led by Camille Barchers received the APA MA 2025 Student Project Award for this work!

📊 Scenario Planning
Because climate action outcomes depend on policy, technology, and behavior, the plan models multiple implementation pathways and future scenarios.

🤝 Equity + Community Benefits
ImpaCT 2050 includes a full Low-Income Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) analysis and reflects extensive public and municipal engagement to ensure strategies are locally informed and actionable.

💼 Funding + Workforce
The plan identifies jobs, workforce opportunities, and funding pathways needed to bring these strategies to life.

📍WHAT’S NEXT?

➡️Our team is ready to help municipalities align existing planning efforts—including Plan of Conservation and Development updates, Hazard Mitigation Plan updates, and Sustainable CT certifications—with climate strategies that maximize impact.

🔜Resilience Working Group
Starting in August, SCRCOG will host bimonthly sessions bringing together municipal leaders, partners, and community members to advance climate and coastal resilience in our region. Sign up through our listserv: https://mailchi.mp/be13a96461d1/scrcog-resilience-working-group

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About the Path to ImpaCT 2050 Sector Snapshot Series:

🏙As we move into implementation, SCRCOG is helping municipalities align ImpaCT 2050 guidance with existing regional plans, such as Plans of Conservation and Development and Sustainable CT certifications, so communities can turn ideas into action.

📊The ImpaCT 2050 plan is packed with resources to better understand where the emissions are, how much reductions cost and how to fund it, who has the authority to implement, and step-by-step guidance tailored to individual municipalities.

👉Swipe to dive deeper, and follow along each week for a new Path to Impact 2050 snapshot!

Read the full ImpaCT 2050 Plan here: bit.ly/impact2050

Additional plan credits:

Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
UMass Amherst LARP & Camille Barchers