The Municipal Outreach Program Process:
The Northwest Commission recognizes that municipalities face many challenges on a daily basis. It is important to realize, as well as track, their technical and financial needs and refer them to appropriate individuals within local, state, regional, federal, non-profit, and for-profit organizations to meet their increasing needs.

The Municipal Outreach Program entails a newly built database, comprehensive survey, and referral system. Survey topics include Water and Sewer; Infrastructure; Recreation; Wetlands; Floodplain Management; Recycling; Transportation; Technology; Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety; Planning; Downtown Revitalization; Budget; Energy; and a brief SWOT analysis.

All of the information gathered will then be transferred into the database. The database will allow for easy tracking of progress within the municipalities, fast queries to pin point multi-municipal problems and initiatives, and point and click access to all of the survey questions. County Planners and referral agencies will all have access to the database for information sharing purposes.
 

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The Referral System:
Many state and federal agencies have agreed to participate in the Municipal Outreach Program. Some of those agencies include PA Downtown Center, Department of Community and Economic Development, COSTARS, and several others. These agencies will be the backbone for researching the needs of local governments by providing their expertise on various issues.

Several programs within the Northwest Commission’s Community Development and Planning department will also be utilized throughout the project. Those programs include a new Neighborhood GIS program, the GIS/GPS Program, Transportation Planning, Municipal Technology Assistance Program, Local Technical Assistance Program, and Telecommunications Planning. These programs will also be utilized as referrals giving The Municipal Outreach Program a larger capacity for research capabilities.