Overview

The Baltimore Region GIS Committee (BRGISC) is a working group for GIS staff in BMC's member jurisdictions. The goal of the committee is to come together to collaborate and exchange ideas on geospatial matters that affect the entire region. Founded in 2009, the BRGISC meets quarterly to discuss state and local GIS activities, coordinate on regional projects, and provide educational and networking opportunities for its members. GIS staff at BMC act as a liaison between BMC's member jurisdictions to ensure they are kept updated on state policies and projects that affect local GIS operations. BMC staff also advocate at state meetings on behalf of local GIS interests.

Purpose and Mission

• Monitoring state GIS activities and policies and discussing their impact on local GIS operations
• Advising state agencies on GIS issues that affect local GIS staff
• Fostering cooperation, collaboration, and communication on GIS-related issues among local, regional, state, and federal agencies in the Baltimore area
• Providing opportunities for state agencies, federal agencies, and other groups to bring their ideas to the entire region while giving local government GIS staff a chance to provide feedback on large-area projects that may affect them
• Coordinating and facilitating the sharing of geospatial data among BMC member jurisdictions
• Creating partnerships and project-level planning for geospatial data projects involving multiple jurisdictions
• Creating an environment where GIS staff from local governments can share work experiences and project solutions
• Identifying opportunities for Committee members to address GIS training needs cooperatively with each other and other groups and agencies

Membership

The BRGISC is open to all GIS staff who work for BMC's member jurisdictions.

Overview

The Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee works with regional procurement officers from its eight county/city membership to aggregate the purchasing volumes of like commodities and services to leverage the committee's buying power.

This work is facilitated by the Coordinator of Cooperative Purchasing employed by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

Purpose and Mission

• Identify cooperative procurement opportunities.
• Identify a lead buying entity to administer the cooperative procurement under their purchasing policy and procedures.
• Save participants money, time and administrative burden through consolidation efforts.
• Share best practices and essential information.

Membership

Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Anne Arundel Community College, City of Annapolis, Baltimore County, Baltimore County Public Schools, Community College of Baltimore County, City of Baltimore, Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore City Community College, Carroll County, Carroll County Public Schools, Carroll County Community College, Harford County, Harford County Public Schools, Harford County Community College, Howard County, Howard County Public Schools, Howard County Community College, Queen Anne's County and Maryland Department of General Services.

Ethics

The Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee created a video to provide important information for suppliers, employees and the public on the topic of governmental ethics in procurement activities.  Please take the time to view this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RamJ5naD4D0.

Overview

The Interagency Consultation Group (ICG) is the group tasked by the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) with conducting the key processes in determining air quality transportation conformity of the region's short-range transportation program and long-range transportation plan. This group is the main committee of the BRTB handling air quality planning issues for transportation.

Purpose and Mission

• To conduct a conformity determination on long-range transportation plans, short-range transportation programs, and regionally significant non-exempt changes to either.
• To participate in the development of motor vehicle emission budgets as part of MDE's State Implementation Plan (SIP) development process.

Membership

Membership consists of three voting members (The Maryland Departments of Transportation and Environment) and a representative of the BRTB, and additional non-voting members, including the regional offices of the Federal Highway Administration, US Environmental Protection Agency, and Federal Transit Administration.

Overview

The Cooperative Forecasting Group (CFG) is a subcommittee of the Technical Committee of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB). The CFG develops data sets of population, household, and employment controls and small area forecasts vital to BRTB transportation planning activities that include travel demand modeling and air quality conformity testing. These data sets are available to federal, state, and local government agencies, private sector businesses, and members of the public.

The CFG meets the fourth Wednesday of every other month to review local land use patterns, to discuss socio-economic trends, newly released U.S. Census Bureau figures and other indicators, and to adjust existing forecasts to reflect new developments, market conditions, and current local policy. The CFG submits forecasts to the Technical Committee for review and subsequent recommendation for endorsement by the BRTB.

Purpose and Mission

• To develop a set of population, household, and employment controls and small area forecasts
• To review Census data releases and current local demographic conditions
• To analyze demographic trends
• To identify major components of demographic change

Membership

• Representatives of each BRTB jurisdiction
• Non-voting members include the Maryland Department of Planning, the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council staff.

 View Round 10 Cooperative Forecasts  

Overview

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Baltimore region. The BRTB is directly responsible for making sure that any federal money spent on existing and future transportation projects and programs is based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) planning process.

Purpose and Mission

• Provide overall program management of the work plan and budget.
• Provide policy direction and oversight for the long-range transportation plan, the short range program and the air quality conformity determination.

Membership

The cities of Annapolis and Baltimore, the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne's and the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland Transit Administration, and Annapolis Transit.