The South Central Regional Council of Governments is dedicated to regional cooperation enabling cities and towns to work together to accomplish projects they cannot do as efficiently or cost effectively by themselves, creating a sense of pride in the region by aspiring to the highest quality of life and economic wellbeing that can be achieved and greater accountability through voluntary cooperation in the region with productive results that benefit the entire region.
SCRCOG Mission Statement
The South Central Region of Connecticut is an economically diverse region of 15 municipalities with a total population of approximately 575,000, the third largest planning region in the state and about 16% of the state’s total population (2025). Officially recognized as a County-equivalent by the United States Census Bureau, the South Central Region extends from the City of Milford on the west to the Town of Madison on the east, and to the City of Meriden to the north with the City of New Haven centrally located on the coast of the Long Island Sound. The municipalities that make up the SCRCOG region vary widely in population, geography, governance structures, staffing levels, and resource capacity. SCRCOG designs programs and projects with these differences in mind, aiming both to strengthen the operations of well-resourced communities and to provide critical support to municipalities with limited capacity. In this way, SCRCOG works to close service gaps while promoting improvements that benefit the entire region.
SCRCOG serves the member municipalities of the South Central Region as a state-designated Council of Governments (COG) and federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Read more about these roles in the following tabs.
SCRCOG is one of nine Councils of Governments (COGs) in Connecticut. Established within Connecticut General Statutes, COGs are forums of chief elected officials within a given planning region, where each member municipality has equal representation on the board [CGS Section 4-124i]. Each municipality is entitled to one representative, the highest elected official or another elected official designated by ordinance.
As a Council of Governments, SCRCOG’s responsibilities include to:
- Establish and maintain Regional Plans of Conservation & Development (POCDs)
- Provide administrative, management, technical, or planning assistance to municipalities
- Conduct feasibility studies
- Review projects of regional significance
- Additional regional services identified by member municipalities
For a full set of definitions of COGs and additional terms, please visit the following link: Chapter 50 – Office of Policy and Management: General Provisions; Budget and Appropriations; State Planning.
Learn more about the work of other COGs in our state:
| Capitol Region Council of Governments | CRCOG |
| Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments | MetroCOG |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments | RiverCOG |
| Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments | NVCOG |
| Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments | NECOG |
| Northwest Hills Council of Governments | NHCOG |
| South Central Regional Council of Governments | SCRCOG |
| Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments | SECOG |
| Western Connecticut Council of Governments | WestCOG |
Under federal statute 23 CFR 450.310, each urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000 individuals must be designated as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Federal laws and regulations mandate that the MPO, in cooperation with the state and with operators of publicly owned transit services, be responsible for carrying out the metropolitan transportation planning process.
As an MPO, SCRCOG responsibilities include to develop and maintain:
- Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP): long-range planning document that lays out Transportation goals over a 20-year period and provides a framework to help guide the use of federal funding in the Region.
- Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): medium-range planning document that identifies transportation improvement projects to be funded through federal programs over a 4-year fiscal timeframe. Any regional project utilizing federal funds must be in the TIP.
- Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP): describes all SCRCOG planning and administrative activities and transportation planning studies that will be conducted over a 2-year timeframe. In order to be eligible for reimbursement all planning studies and activities must identify costs and funding sources and must be included in the UPWP.
Map Source: CT Department of Transportation
