Hampshire Council of Governments

What is it?
The Hampshire Council of Governments is a consortium of towns solving local problems by acting regionally. The people who lived here in 1662, not wanting to rely on Boston for all their decisions, obtained a charter from King Charles II establishing Hampshire County. In 1998 the residents of Hampshire County voted to charter the Hampshire Council of Governments as the successor to Hampshire County. Our offices are still in the same place they have been since 1662, at the corner of King and Main in downtown Northampton.

What does it do?
• secures lower cost electricity for area towns and businesses
• insures employee health for 64 local public employers
• inspects buildings and enforces zoning,
• bids cooperatively for area schools and towns
• distributes federal surplus equipment to towns
• helps towns and business comply with tobacco control laws,

The Council performs a myriad of additional services listed below.

Are services available to non- members?
The primary focus of the Council is to serve the member towns. Most services are also available to other towns on a fee-for-service basis.

Who runs the Council?
Voters in member towns elect representatives to the Council at their municipal elections.

Councilors set priorities, adopt a budget, oversee existing programs, and identify problems shared by their towns that may be amenable to a regional solution. They serve as trustees for the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust. They provide a quasi-judicial function in tax abatement hearings and road petition hearings. Citizens are invited to contact their elected representative to the Council with suggestions on current or proposed programs.

The Councilors appoint a Council Administrator, who serves as the executive director for the organization. A dedicated team of professional staff brings a wealth of professional training and experience to the day-to-day operation of Council programs and services.

How is it paid for?
Assessed membership dues, program fees, grants, and earned revenues all support Council activities. Membership dues of less than $40,000 support program activity in excess of $45M. The Charter set initial membership dues in 1999 at .0001 of a town’s equalized property valuation (EQV), subject to the same provisions of Proposition 2½ rules that apply to the cities and towns. Since then, the mounting state and local funding crisis in Massachusetts has prompted members to approve a reduction in assessed dues. By Charter and by statute, the dues are apportioned among the members in proportion to their EQV. For fee-based services that are available to non-members, members receive substantial discounts over non-member fees. Fees are described in each program description.

How is the Council organized?
Twenty-three Councilors govern the Council of Governments. At their municipal election, each of the member towns elects one or more representatives. Selectboards appoint town representatives to fill vacancies until the next municipal election. Councilors serve two-year terms. Votes on the Council are weighted, according to the town population. The Councilors elect from among themselves a Moderator and a five member Executive Committee consisting of a Chair, Vice-Chair, and three other members. The Chair appoints committees and committee chairs.

How can towns join or leave the Council?
A vote of either the Town Meeting or City Council or by ballot at town elections is required. In addition, a vote of current members must approve new members. The specific procedures required are set forth in the Charter and in the Administrative Code. Both may be obtained from the Councilors’ Office.

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COUNCILORS’ ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OFFICES provide support for a variety of additional services:
• County Dispatch Tower,
• County Dog Damage Fund,
• EMT/EMS Training,
• Firefighter’s Air Supply Vehicle Insurance,
• Grants applications and administration,
• Hampshire County Selectmen’s Association,
• Hazardous Materials Contingency Fund,
• Hilltown Resource Management Cooperative,
• Property Tax Abatement Hearings,
• Road Discontinuance and Easement Hearings,
• Springfield Materials Recycling Board.

The Hampshire Council of Governments operates a GROUP INSURANCE TRUST that provides
• group health and life insurance
• insurance consulting services
• wellness promotion through the Wellness Initiative
for 64 public employers in Western Massachusetts. The Hampshire Councilors serve as trustees of the Trust, and the Chief Financial Officer and Insurance Director serves as the Administrator and Operations Manager of the Trust. The Council’s Chief Financial Officer holds designations of Casualty Claim Law Associate, Chartered Life Underwriter, and Chartered Financial Consultant. Municipalities that are not members of the Council of Governments may apply for insurance coverage. Acceptance requires approval of both the Insurance Advisory Board and the Councilors. Once approved, each new unit gains a seat on the Advisory Board. The Trust has earned a reputation for helping schools and towns control the ever-rising costs of health insurance while providing employees with quality health insurance coverage.

The Wellness Initiative Program is part of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust working with subscribers and their families to improve their health. According to national studies the illness and injury costs associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices accounts for about 25% of employee health care expenditures. We partner with worksites to promote healthier choices that will improve health and decrease health care costs.

HAMPSHIRE POWER is the electricity program of the Hampshire Council of Governments. As the only governmental body in Massachusetts licensed as a competitive electricity supplier, the Council buys power on the wholesale market on behalf of area towns and businesses. Because Hampshire Power is different from private, for-profit suppliers, the Council’s rate plans are substantially different too. Call for a free analysis of 12 months bills to see whether your town or business could save money, 413-584-1300 x5.

The Hampshire Council REGIONAL SERVICES AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT develops regional approaches that can be shared by member municipalities. Regional Services coordinates and oversees the following programs:

Cooperative Purchasing coordinates and administers a formal bidding process for municipalities, schools, and human service agencies as well as the Council’s own departments. Buying in bulk generates added savings over lone bidding efforts while complying with state procurement statutes and eliminating duplication of administrative work. When towns experience problems with a product or service, the Council’s trouble-shooting follow-up packs the clout of the entire purchasing volume. The Co-op has established an excellent rapport with many local vendors and strives to keep as much business as possible at the local level. The department annually bids such municipal staples as:
• fuel oils,
• various highway supplies and in-place services,
• office supplies,
• school classroom and arts & crafts supplies,
• camera ready printing and copying services,
• milk, bread, and ice cream, and cafeteria food, and
• toner and supplies for office machinery.

Hampshire Inspection Program (HIP) is a building inspection and zoning enforcement program, serving as the primary inspection services for the towns of Chesterfield, Goshen and Middlefield, who jointly fund the program.

Hampshire IT, an alliance with Hadley-based Paragus IT, which allows member communities to receive discounted hourly rates on comprehensive, professional IT support from a proven company. Full range of IT services include virus protection, web page development and web hosting, data security, voice over IP Phone setup and much more.

Regional Accounting, provides Town Accountant services, bookkeeping, and data entry support, currently serving several small municipal cooperatives and the Town of Granby.

Annual Wage & Salary Survey, gives local officials accurate information about comparable employee costs in the region.

Grant Research & Writing, qualified staff write grants on behalf of member communities. Department has been successful in securing funding for fire trucks and equipment.

RSVP OF HAMPSHIRE & FRANKLIN COUNTIES mobilizes older adults to meet community needs by recruiting, placing and supporting volunteers in a diverse array of service opportunities at local nonprofit and public agencies. RSVP matches people with experience and skills to offer with organizations that need their help. RSVP volunteers serve at hospitals, schools, survival centers, community centers, after-school programs, senior centers, and more. The ways in which RSVP volunteers serve include tutoring, counseling, environmental restoration, health education, nutrition programs, and non-profit administration and governance. Hundreds of people in Hampshire and Franklin Counties are members of RSVP. Any person age 55+ who is interested in volunteering in Hampshire or Franklin County is invited to join RSVP.

The Council’s SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT was created up to help create, promote and support sustainability efforts in Hampshire County on a community, business, residential, and region wide basis. The Council’s efforts include: working with Communities throughout the Council service region on “Green Power” development projects, helping towns achieving “Green Community” status, working on regional sustainability initiatives, promoting PV solar development, be a local Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) aggregator, assisting Communities in reducing their carbon footprints and partnering with other sustainability based groups in the Western Massachusetts Region. The Council’s Sustainability Director believes that “between the effects of climate change and having only a finite amount of resources available we have to become more sustainable on a local and global basis.” The Council is becoming a leader in Sustainability in the Western Massachusetts region. If you have questions please contact Eric Weiss, Sustainability Director, at 413-584-1300 ext. 155, or by email at eweiss@hampshirecog.org.

The TOBACCO FREE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP works to decrease the health and economic burden of tobacco and share that information with community leaders, parents, and policy makers. We implement our mission by:
• preventing young people from staring to smoke
• protecting children and adults from secondhand smoke
• protecting people from second hand smoke including encouraging landlords to make their property smoke free,
• helping current smokers to quit
• identifying and eliminating tobacco related disparities

Resources include:
Visit Western Mass Smoke Free Apartments at http://www.smokefree.hampshirecog.org/ to find a listing for smoke free apartments in western Massachusetts and information for landlords and tenants about smoke free apartments. This is a free service for both Landlords and Tenants. Or call 413-584-1300 x174

Google Make Smoking History online to learn more about quitting, housing issues, youth, and the cost of smoking in our communities.