Our Insights page offers original content developed by Centralina's experts, including commentary and analysis, reports and our Capitol Corner, which highlights the latest news from Washington D.C. and Raleigh. You'll also find links to resources and meeting materials.
In bolstering pre-disaster resiliency, mitigation and post-disaster recovery efforts, local governments must be proficient in effectively managing public assistance dollars.
NC Association of Regional Councils of Governments and Centralina Regional Council offers this training package to provide the foundation of your disaster recovery training programs.
Centralina Area Agency on Aging (AAA) strongly supports opportunities for professional development and continuing education to help each staff member grow in their roles and responsibilities and best serve residents and member communities throughout our region. This fall, AAA staff took part in three different training and certification opportunities to help increase knowledge and capacity in order to fulfill Centralinaâs organization-wide mission to advance opportunity and improve quality of life for our regionâs residents and communities.
When the City of Mount Holly found themselves needing to hire a new city manager, they turned to Centralina for assistance in the recruitment process. The city faced the common challenge of finding a candidate with the right mix of skills for effective leadership, adept management and community engagement. In response, Centralina devised a precise recruitment process aimed at ensuring the city’s continued administrative success, a smooth transition and overall community well-being.
Centralina Community Economic Development team recently collaborated with the Town of Matthews on a sidewalk extension project near their popular downtown district. Allocated funding provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program, allowed Centralina to work with the town to improve sidewalk infrastructure in order to provide a safe and accessible pathway for residents to access nearby local services.
Each year, the federal government provides significant funding to state and local governments. Those funds, usually in the form of federal grants, awards and assistance agreements, provide funding for all types of programs and services, including but not limited to, water and transportation infrastructure, public safety, environmental improvements and energy efficiency. The federal government places conditions on this type of funding with the goal of making sure federal dollars are spent properly. Those conditions, however, can sometimes create burdens without adding value, and those in Washington are taking note.
For years, self-driving vehicles have been touted as a potentially revolutionary transportation technology. For most of the general public, however, the concept of self-driving vehicles has either seemed impossible or possible in the far-distant future. Public and private sector agencies have already been investing resources into developing ââConnected & Autonomous Vehicles” (CAV), and momentum around the emerging technology is building rapidly. As research continues and public embrace grows, communities must be prepared to adapt to the changing transportation ecosystem. Through the established Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Task Force, Centralina Regional Council is bringing together stakeholders from across the region in order to best prepare for this wave of change in transportation.
2023 marks 55 years since the establishment of Centralina Regional Council. During this time, the organization has seen projects come and grow, but one thing that has remained the same is our core group of long-term employees, many of which have been with the organization for decades. So what is it that makes people stay? We sat down with some of our longest-standing staff members to understand why theyâve continued to work for our organization for so long, what makes Centralina special to them and some of their favorite moments.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the founding of Centralina Regional Council, formerly known as Centralina Council of Governments. Over the last five and a half decades, our organization has helped support the growth and prosperity of our region through various projects and initiatives. In honor of this historic year, weâre looking back at how our organization has evolved to where it is today. Â
October 2023 marks the two-year anniversary of the adoption of the CONNECT Beyond Regional Mobility Plan. During this time, focus has been on the implementation of the planâs key near-term recommendations. One of the most important and impactful recommendations is the development of a Regional Transportation Demand Management Plan and Program. Centralina is leading the effort on this recommendation.
On October 24, 2023, Centralina held a Centralina Learns session focused on the topic of Climate and Sustainability Planning. During this session, local government staff learned about strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting built environments to be more resilient and saw examples of what climate planning looks like in our region.