Member Services

While NWCCOG has a regional focus, it recognizes the unique needs of each of its members as well. For instance, Pitkin County, a county of more than 16,000 residents and over 200 employees, has very different needs than the Town of Montezuma, which has a population of less than 75 and no employees. NWCCOG's Member Services Program offers a variety of services which can be customized to each jurisdiction's individual needs.

Every year, each NWCCOG member in good standing receives a "grant" worth $1,000, which can be used toward any member service they need. The cost of service is dependent on the project. Members are responsible for any project costs accrued above and beyond the $1,000 benefit.

Community Issues Management
NWCCOG will review difficult issues facing member jurisdictions and assist members to effectively manage the issues by assessing the situation, developing and implementing a strategy, monitoring and evaluating the progress, and training staff.

Community Surveys
NWCCOG has been conducting community surveys for members since 1991. A full range of custom-designed products -- from comprehensive community surveys to topic-specific surveys -- are available. NWCCOG will develop the survey, mail to a random sample population, collect, record and analyze results, and present the findings to the member. The results of all NWCCOG surveys, studies and presentations are available on the Website. Visit http://www.nwccog.org for examples of surveys conducted to date.

GIS Service Center
NWCCOG offers GIS Services on both a subscription and an hourly basis. The GIS Service Center provides affordable GIS services to member jurisdictions without GIS capability, and to those with GIS capability in need of additional help and/or services. The GIS Service Center also provides affordable access to new GIS applications that are not within the existing capabilities of member jurisdictions, and works to create regional continuity between all municipal, county, state, and federal GIS systems.

Grant Application Assistance/Administration
NWCCOG staff is available to assist members with grant research, writing grant applications, and administration/reporting requirements for grant award contracts.

Health Insurance Pool
In 2001, NWCCOG successfully negotiated an agreement with the County Health Pool (CHP), administered through County Technical Services Inc. (CTSI), a health insurance pool arrangement for qualified NWCCOG member jurisdictions. Jurisdictions must have fewer than 10 employees enrolled for coverage to qualify. Under this agreement, both employees and salaried elected officials are eligible. NWCCOG switched its own employee health insurance coverage to CHP and has experienced significant savings. The Towns of Kremmling, Hot Sulphur Springs, and Walden joined the NWCCOG pool, and now receive coverage from CHP as well. All NWCCOG member jurisdictions with fewer than 10 employees are invited to join the NWCCOG health insurance pool. For more information, contact Ashley Martin at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 970-468-0295 x101.

Information Forums
NWCCOG will coordinate informational forums for member jurisdictions upon their request. If there is an issue of interest to several jurisdictions, NWCCOG will develop, organize and facilitate workshops, providing members with an environment for positive and constructive dialogue.

Meeting / Retreat Facilitation
The success or failure of meetings often depends on the quality of meeting management. NWCCOG facilitates meetings for member jurisdictions. Services include meeting design, agenda development, facilitation and meeting summary.

Research Services
NWCCOG performs studies on issues of interest to local governments, such as surveys on salaries, policies and procedures. Some examples of research services that have been provided through this program are Issue Analysis for Open Space Ballot Initiative, Study on Municipal Annexation Policies, Study on the Costs/Benefits of Home Rule Status, and a Resort Area Town/County Benefits Survey.

Technical Assistance Grants
Each year, NWCCOG receives funding from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs through the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program. NWCCOG utilizes a portion of these funds for Technical Assistance Grants. Member jurisdictions can apply for these grants, which may be used for a variety of projects. For more information on NWCCOG's Member Services, or to request a Member Service for your jurisdiction, please contact Rachel Lunney at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) , 970.468-0295, ext. 106.

 2009 Accomplishments:

• Received a $26,900 USDA Rural Development Housing Preservation Fund Grant that was passed through to Eagle County for the Golden Eagle Senior Apartments.
• GIS Service Center- Provided subscription GIS Services to the Towns of Fraser and Winter Park; Provided additional GIS Services to the Towns of Minturn and Kremmling.
• Census 2010-NWCCOG became an official Census Partner in April of 2009, and thus made the commitment to conduct Census 2010 outreach throughout the region. NWCCOG served on the Statewide Complete Count Committee, included articles in the quarterly newsletter, created a "Census 2010" page on our website, and served as Participant Statistical Area Program (PSAP) Coordinator for the region. NWCCOG also hosted an informational workshop on the Census and invited Census staff to several NWCCOG Council meetings throughout 2009 to keep our membership informed about the Census. NWCCOG also assisted Summit County with convening their Complete Count Committee.
• 2009 Cost of Living Study-with the assistance of a grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs' Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund, NWCCOG conducted the 2009 Cost of Living Study. This study compared differences in the cost to purchase a typical "market basket" of goods among each town in NWCCOG's region. This information is valuable to local governments, businesses, and residents in communities in analyzing trends in different geographic locations, and can be very useful to member towns both in their function as an employer as well as their role in analyzing local housing and economic trends.
• Affordable Housing Programs Study-at the request of members, NWCCOG conducted a study of the various tools used by members to address the need for affordable housing. The study is available on NWCCOG's website.
• Zebra Mussel Workshop-at the request of several member jurisdictions dealing with the proliferation of this invasive, problematic species in rivers and lakes, NWCCOG hosted an information workshop on zebra mussels. The workshop was lead by experts from the Colorado Division of Wildlife and marina managers in the region.
•  Awarded the following Technical Assistance Grants in 2009:
  Red Cliff-$10,000 for municipal code codification
  Vail-$5,243 for recycling program feasibility study and design guidelines
  Breckenridge-$5,000 for Workforce Housing-Employee Occupied Market Unit Preservation Strategy
  Silverthorne-$5,000 for records management system
  Carbondale-$2,500 for Noxious Weed Management Plan
  Glenwood Springs-$2,257 for Housing Support Study for Commercial Linkage Ordinance
• NWCCOG facilitated the Town Council planning retreats for the following jurisdictions:
  Silverthorne
  Granby
  Grand Lake
• Other Meetings Facilitated:
  Joint Planning Meeting on Transportation for Pitkin County & the City of Aspen
  Consultation provided to the Family Intercultural Resource Center (FIRC) on the creation of a survey
• Member Communications and Outreach:
  Published 4 quarterly newsletters which provide resources to members such as information on grant opportunities, trainings and workshops, demographics of the region, and regional projects including Census 2010 and Seniors in Our Mountain Communities. NWCCOG also developed a new website with the assistance of a Department of Local Affairs' Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Grant.