Introduction

THE WINDHAM REGIONAL COMMISSION

The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) is an association of 27 towns formed in 1965 and subsequently constituted by the State Legislature under the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act (24 V.S.A. Chapter 117). The WRC’s mission is to assist member towns to provide effective local government and to work cooperatively with them to address regional issues. Each member town appoints two commissioners to represent that town's interests in regional affairs. Additionally, the WRC has up to ten citizen interest commissioners who represent other regional interests such as agriculture, arts, natural resources, housing, and business and industry. The WRC is supported by an annual appropriation from member towns, an annual appropriation from the Legislature, and by private, state, and federal grants. 

The WRC was created following Governor Philip Hoff's 1962 expansion of the state planning program, with four basic goals:

• Promote economic development, increasing jobs and income;
• Preserve the natural beauty of Vermont;
• Obtain and maintain efficiency in government expenditure; and
• Safeguard and extend local autonomy in planning and development decisions.