Alamo Area Council of Governments Unifies Region
Published Apr 14, 2008
Businesses are relocating to the New Braunfels area, where small-town charm and a thriving industrial sector coexist.
Business is booming in the San Antonio area, and it comes as no surprise to the city’s 1.3 million residents.
Conveniently positioned along the I-35 corridor and just a short drive from Mexico, the first-class city has become an international hub for industries ranging from manufacturing to biomedicine. Its status as a preferred place to live and work has helped make San Antonio the seventh largest city in the U.S., outranking Dallas, San Jose and Detroit.
Newcomers to the San Antonio area are soon pleased to discover much more than a mild climate and affordable cost of living. A dynamic regionalism movement initiated by the Alamo Area Council of Governments more than 40 years ago means the area also offers a cohesive workforce of more than 900,000 and positive working relationships among the area’s diverse communities and governing bodies.
“Employers want to know, ‘If I move and make an investment in the region, will it in fact be sustainable?’ Those are the answers San Antonio has been able to provide,” says Al Notzon, former executive director of the Alamo Area Council of Governments from 1971-2007.
Today, AACOG’s 100 member governments, including 12 active and participating counties work together daily to meet the regional challenges and promote the regional strengths of the region.
“Everyone has their own interest, but regionalism says you work at those interests while remembering the times you helped your neighbors and also needed their help. That’s the kind of consciousness we’re trying to promote – neighboring towns working together,” Notzon says. “When people come together, they’re not wasting time building turf wars or duplicating staff or services.”
The voluntary council serves 11,354 square miles in the Alamo Area/State Planning Region 18 and has been instrumental in the planning of dozens of local and regional programs, from aging and mental health services to homeland security, transportation services and rural workforce programs. The council also helped implement the region’s 9-1-1 system and has been extensively involved in improving air and water quality throughout the area. Working with member governments, the council helped establish the Alamo WorkSource Board as well as the Alamo Area Regional Law Enforcement Academy.
“Because members put part of their budget into the council, it becomes a true service bureau for each region,” Notzon says of the council, whose 300-member staff now operates with an annual budget of $42 million. “We have to stay responsive to the needs of local governments and they have to feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.”
Those needs extend far beyond Bexar County into its neighboring counties, which Notzon says are an equally important part of the council’s mission.
“If we serve a region, we serve everyone,” he says. “Through collaborative efforts, we bring everyone to the table, both small and large. Every area has its own role in economic development.”
From the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in New Braunfels to Continental Automotive Systems and Commercial Metals Company plants operating in nearby Seguin, the region’s success can be felt throughout every urban and rural setting in the Alamo Area.
“There’s no question in my mind about the region’s continued growth,” Notzon says.
“If you’re global, we become a logical place to locate.”
Story by Melanie Hill
Photo by Jeff Adkins
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