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CONSIDERATION OF PAYMENT OF FYE 2015 DUES ASSESSMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $61,857 TO THE ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA GOVERNMENTS (ACOG) FOR THE PERIOD OF JULY 1, 2014, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2015.
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INFORMATION: The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) is a voluntary association of cities, towns and county governments in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area that was first established in 1966. The ACOG region represents a total population of approximately 1,076,258 people and an area of over 2,900 square miles, including Oklahoma, Cleveland, Canadian and Logan Counties. Joining together in ACOG allows member entities to work cooperatively to address common issues. Members of ACOG are represented on the Board of Directors for the Association and generally have representatives on ACOG’s program policy bodies: the 9-1-1 Association Board of Directors, the Intermodal Transportation Policy Committee and the Garber-Wellington Policy Committee. A Norman City Council member sits on the ACOG Board.
In 2011, ACOG began working towards development of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region. The development of the CEDS provided valuable information for the City’s adoption of an Economic Development Policy and also enabled the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC), in conjunction with the City, to obtain a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for the construction of infrastructure for the University North Park Corporate Center and Advanced Manufacturing Center. The ground breaking for that NEDC Project was held this past Spring.
ACOG is funded through the collection of annual dues from 37 member entities. Annual dues are calculated based on the total population of all members entities with each member paying their proportionate percentage of the total population. Additionally, ACOG receives state appropriations and federal and state contracts that provide financial support for the performance of special projects and to supplement the technical assistance of ACOG. Funding for the City of Norman’s ACOG annual dues was included in the FYE 2015 Budget. Funding is available in Professional Memberships (010-1001-411.46-01).