In the fall of 2018, SCRCOG established Working Groups to focus on municipal services/operations and promote efficiencies and cost-saving initiatives. The goal of these Working Groups is to foster greater collaboration among the fifteen SCRCOG municipalities. There are currently eight Working Groups, with representation consisting of municipal employees and community leaders.
- Primary Focus: Energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives such as electric vehicles, clean energy, solar infrastructure, municipal energy saving practices and energy consumption behavior.
- Current Initiatives:
- Featured Guest Presenters: CT Green Bank; Energize CT; LiveGreen; SolSmart
- Primary Focus: Regional finance and procurement issues such as ERP systems, document management, grants, policies, COVID-19 Long-Term Recovery, and best practices.
- Current Initiatives:
- - SCRCOG Regional Purchasing Consortium
- - American Rescue Plan Funding for Municipalities
- Featured Guest Presenters: CRCOG; Tyler Technologies; Town of Branford; Town of Norwich; City of New Haven; Town of North Branford; Edmunds & Associates; Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS); Hooker & Holcombe; Commerce Bank
The Grant Administration Working Group will commence in Fall 2021 with a series of workshops designed to help municipal employees develop grant write skills and knowledge.
- Primary Focus: Cybersecurity and e-Government initiatives to improve municipalities’ technological infrastructure, cybersecurity posture, and ability to deliver services virtually
- Current Initiatives:
- - Offering free seminar-style and interactive cybersecurity trainings for municipal employees
- - Preliminary vulnerability assessments
- - Development of cybersecurity policies/guidelines for implementation within city/town halls.
- - General IT consulting to assist municipalities with their individual needs and concerns.
- Featured Guest Presenters: CIRMA; Novus Insight; Robinson & Cole; MS-ISAC; DEMHS
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- Primary Focus: Water quality and watershed protection through stormwater management solutions and ecosystem health initiatives.
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- Current Initiatives:
- - SCRCOG's MS4 Resource webpage
- - Pollinator Pathways: encourages use of alternative methods of pest prevention, creating and maintaining pollinator habitats
- - Guide member municipalities through the Connecticut DEEP mandated Municipal Stormwater General Permit process in collaboration with UConn Clear
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- > Promotes stormwater management and watershed pollution control through a series of tasks performed over the 5-year permitting period
- > CT Nemo provides a Connecticut MS4 Guide to aid municipalities in meeting permit requirements
- > Please refer to the SCRCOG MS4 Resources page for more information
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- - Projects to reduce runoff and promote awareness within communities including Stormwater Runoff Art and Rain Garden installation
- - Connect member municipalities with funding sources for watershed protection process such as Connecticut DEEP watershed grants and the Sustainable CT Community Match Fund
- Current Initiatives:
- Featured Guest Presenters: UConn; Watertown; MA Public Works; Connecticut DOT; Runoff Art
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- Primary Focus: Establishing best practices and collaborative initiatives related to public works (e.g. equipment sharing and asset management); in addition to the initiatives unique to public works, the topics discussed in the purchasing, solid waste & recycling, and fleet management Working Groups often include public works officials.
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- Current Initiatives:
- - Providing resources for equipment sharing
- - Regional purchasing
- - Solid waste & recycling
- Current Initiatives:
- Featured Guest Presenters: Department of Physical Services for the Town of Wethersfield; Fuel Master; Dossier Systems; Dude Solutions
- Primary Focus: Creating fiscal and procurement efficiencies and cost-savings through a regional purchasing initiative
- Current Initiatives:
- - SCRCOG Regional Purchasing Consortium
- - Municipal Procurement Training Series: Seven professional training sessions exclusive to SCRCOG municipalities; including topics such as basic procurement, bids, RFPs/RFQs, contracts, etc.
- Featured Guest Presenters: CRCOG; Tyler Technologies; Town of Branford; Town of Norwich; City of New Haven; Town of North Branford; Edmunds & Associates; Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS); Hooker & Holcombe; Commerce Bank
- Primary Focus: Innovative waste management solutions to current issues such as the rising cost of waste disposal, and lack of disposal options, as well as exploring sustainable disposal options tailored to different components of the waste stream to aid in the burden of disposal.
- Current Initiatives:
- - Encourage participation in the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM) spearheaded by Connecticut DEEP to promote discussion around waste management solutions to plan for future waste reduction and sustainable materials management
- - Promote organics recovery and composting solutions for member municipalities and their residents:
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- >Municipal composting pilot project in West Haven
- >Developed specialized Food Waste Diversion guides for each member municipality to facilitate an organics recovery program in schools (launch impacted by COVID-19)
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- - Exploring alternative collection methods to separate out organics and non-traditional recyclable materials (e. textiles through Simple Recycling) from the waste stream to promote sustainable waste management and cost savings for municipalities.
- - Emphasis on reducing contamination within waste and recycling streams, reducing amount of total waste, and donation of usable items.
- Featured Guest Presenters: Center for EcoTechnology (CET); Blue Earth Compost; City of West Haven; City of New Haven; RiverCOG
Working Groups hold frequent meetings to discuss topics/issues pertinent to municipal operations, regional opportunities, and best practices within the focus area of the group. They often feature guest speakers from across the State of Connecticut who are experts in the field and provide insight and knowledge around relevant issues.
The municipal services program also utilizes Basecamp, a virtual collaboration tool. This platform is used to facilitate project management and collaboration among SCRCOG municipalities through a calendar of events, communal message board, and organization of resources for each Working Group.