March 5, 1968
Page 5196
ADDRESS BY SENATOR MUSKIE TO NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, it was my good fortune recently to address the North-Central Texas Council of Governments at Arlington, Tex. From what I saw there, it is apparent that this council, in just 2 years, is making significant progress in meeting the challenges of its metropolitan region.
The area there is one of the fastest growing urban concentrations in our country. The residents enjoy the benefits of economic growth, of expanded social, cultural, and entertainment opportunities, and many of the conveniences which our technological society provides.
At the same time, they have discovered the pains of growth, the threats of environmental degradation and the tensions of a crowded and divided society. They have discovered that the traditional institutions of local government are not adequate -- acting separately to cope with problems which sprawl across jurisdictional lines.
The principal problem they faced was to combine the advantages of local government -- which is close to individual needs -- and regional government -- which has a broader prospective -- without getting bogged down in inter-community jealousies and controversies.
Their response was the creation of the North-Central Texas Council of Governments.
I was particularly impressed with the council's prompt and effective action in reviewing 46 applications for the Federal grants within their region under the terms of section 204 of the Metropolitan Development Act.
The council's annual report gives me optimism, because it indicates a number of areas in which it is moving beyond the stage of communication and cooperation through planning to coordination in development. These include a law enforcement training institute, the regional code program, water resource development, mass transit, and solid waste disposal.
Especially significant to me has been the council's recognition of the need for coordinated action in the area of air pollution control. The result of this concern was the development of a model ordinance for cities in the north-central Texas metropolitan region.
The success of the North-Central Texas Council of Governments and other councils of governments has been gratifying to those of us who believed local governments could band together to act on matters of mutual interest and mutual concern. There are now about 85 such councils in the United States. They are an important evolutionary device in the development of effective local government in our country, and they are reason for optimism that the quality of government will continue to improve.