Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council
 
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GENERAL INFORMATION

One of eleven regional planning councils in Florida, the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council is an association of local governments that employs a professional planning staff to perform state mandated duties and assist local governments. Regional planning councils are prohibited by state law from acting as permitting or regulatory entities.

Mission Statement

"The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council's mission is to provide an intergovernmental forum, protect the Region's abundant natural resources, promote economic development, interact with state government, and strategically plan for the future of the Region."

The Withlacoochee Region takes its name from the scenic Withlacoochee River which forms part of the boundary of each of the five counties in the region. The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council (WRPC) was created in 1973 through an inter-local agreement between Citrus, Hernando, Levy, Marion and Sumter Counties. Recognizing their common interests as rural counties in transition, they formed the WRPC to respond to their needs as a planning region. These include: balancing growth and development issues; maintaining the character of the Region; preserving its environment, and planning for orderly growth to avoid the types of land use problems historically experienced in other areas of Florida.

A regional approach to public decision-making is a pragmatic means to insure sensible development patterns over the widespread geographic areas in which people live and work, and to efficiently utilize limited public funds. According to state law, "the regional planning council is recognized as Florida's only multi-purpose regional entity in a position to plan for and coordinate intergovernmental solutions to growth-related problems affecting greater-than-local issues, provide technical assistance to local governments, and meet other needs of the communities in the region" (Ch. 186.502(4) Florida Statutes).

The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council is governed by a Board of Directors which establishes the goals and policies of the WRPC and makes recommendations to state and local governments. Two-thirds of the Board are elected officials from the counties and municipalities of the Region. The remaining one-third is appointed by the Governor, who also appoints ex-officio non-voting members to represent selected state agencies and the water management districts. The Board of Directors is a cross-section of the Region's diverse population.

The Board of Directors hires an executive director to administer the activities of the WRPC. The executive director hires and manages the professional staff that carries out the WRPC's various programs.

Under the direction of its Board of Directors, the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council administers regional programs, renders technical assistance to local governments and performs state mandated functions.

The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council does not have the authority to levy taxes to fund its activities. Instead, it is financed through a pooling of resources from local, state and federal sources. The WRPC receives revenues through agreements with local governments to provide planning services and also enters into a contract with the state to provide mandated functions. These grants and contract are leveraged with the local commitment of the dues paid to the WRPC by its member local governments. The WRPC's member counties contribute annual membership dues calculated on a per capita basis. These funds are essential to the WRPC's existence because they are needed to meet cash flow requirements between contract draw-downs, provide overall financial stability to maintain the WRPC as a non-profit corporation and to meet local match requirements so the WRPC can participate in various state and federal programs. This pooling of resources allows the WRPC to provide services that many local governments either do not provide for themselves, or the WRPC can deliver at a lower cost.

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