Regional Planning Commission

The SSCRPC's Executive Director is required to provide the Commissioners with a report reviewing the major activities of the Commission's staff at the conclusion of each program year. To see this year's report, which covers the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018, click HERE.

Many factors can affect local government revenues, and municipalities across the state are reporting declines in sales tax revenues. Given the importance of these revenues to local governments in the region, a new SSCRPC Information Brief takes an initial look at the forces that may be causing these revenues to decline.

Prepared by Erik Thulien, this short paper – titled, “Factors Affecting Local Sales Tax Revenue: Assessment of Forces in Springfield, Illinois” – considers several aspects of the issue, identifying such factors as e-commerce, population growth, population age, and local income as relevant parts of a cluster of forces potentially affecting local retail sales and sales tax. This new SSCRPC Information Brief can be found HERE.

This work follows previous work by the SSCRPC that considered how changing demographics in the region may affect property values and assessments over time.

REGIONAL INDICATORS PROJECT.  Understanding the forces acting on our region, as well as the effect these forces are having, is vitally important to our ability to plan and identify strategies for long-term success. The SSCRPC's SangStat project is intended to provide local leaders and the public with a limited set of statistical indicators that we believe are important in understanding and evaluating where our region has been, is now, and is tending. Where comparative data is available, SangStat attempts to provide a set of indicators that consider Sangamon County as a region, comparing it to three other mid-Illinois counties. The SangStat data has just been updated and is provided HERE.

The SSCRPC is interested in identifying additional indicators and welcomes the assistance of those willing to provide additional data for these indicators. Individuals and organizations wishing to propose indicators or offer assistance with data should contact SSCRPC Planning Specialist Ethan Hendricks at sscrpc@co.sangamon.il.us, or call 217-535-3110.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE EFFORTS:

The SSCRPC is now working with many of the municipalities in the county as they go about adopting the Sangamon County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) requires that local communities have pre-disaster plans in order to be eligible for certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects. Mitigation plans identify risks and vulnerabilities associated with natural disasters and develop long-term strategies for protecting people and property from future hazard events.

In 2014, the SSCRPC received a grant to coordinate the planning efforts to update the existing mitigation plan.  Participating communities joined together to develop and share strategies to reduce the risk to life and property caused by natural disasters such as floods, tornados, winter storms and lightning, as well as build partnerships to share resources. The plan update was reviewed by FEMA and was found to meet the criteria of a multi-jurisdictional plan.  

Formal approval of the plan by FEMA will occur after each of the participating communities adopts the plan by passing an ordinance.

The Citizens’ Efficiency Commission (CEC) for Sangamon County is an independent, advisory body established by referendum in 2010, with the purpose of improving “local government effectiveness by identifying opportunities for improved cooperation, coordination and reduction of duplication of services among local governments in Sangamon County." Click HERE for more information.

The Sangamon County Regional Strategic Plan culminates years of planning effort by members of the community, expert planning consultants, and the SSCRPC.  The plan is intended to provide the vision for a vital cycle of growth in the region. Click HERE for more information.