The Mid-America Regional Council

Who we are:

Some issues reach across the boundaries of individual communities. Often they can only be addressed by working together.

The Mid-America Regional Council promotes regional cooperation and develops innovative solutions. We help create a community people are proud to call home.

MARC is a nonprofit association of city and county governments and the metropolitan planning organization for the bistate Kansas City region. Governed by a board of local elected officials, we serve nine counties and 120 cities.

We provide a forum for the region to work together to advance social, economic and environmental progress.

MARC is funded by federal, state and private grants, local contributions and earned income. A major portion of our budget is passed through to local governments and other agencies for programs
and services.

What we do:  our roles in the Greater Kansas City community

Leadership

• Identify regional challenges and act as a problem-solving forum
• Promote consensus and commitment to regional solutions
• Educate and engage the public in decision-making processes

Planning

• Coordinate policies that guide progress in the region
• Develop regional plans for transportation, the environment, emergency response and more
• Conduct research and provide technical support to local leaders

Action

• Advocate for regional issues at the state and federal levels
• Provide cooperative services between local governments
• Allocate resources for regional systems

Program Highlights

Enhanced Response

• Manage the regional 9-1-1 system, providing technical, administrative and workforce development services
• Coordinate the development of interoperable communications systems among local jurisdictions
• Help the region prepare for and reduce risks from disasters, both natural and man-made
• Coordinate regional homeland security planning and administer grants that provide equipment, training and exercise support to emergency personnel
• Assist public health agencies with public education and preparedness efforts
• Support emergency medical service agencies and hospitals with coordinated communications and regional plans and protocols

Caring Communities

• Ensure that the region's children have access to high-quality early learning programs that prepare them to succeed in school
• Serve as the Head Start grantee for Clay, Jackson and Platte counties
• Use grant funds to supplement salaries and provide professional development opportunities for early learning program staff
• Serve as the Area Agency on Aging for the five Missouri counties, overseeing home-delivered
  meals, congregate meals at senior centers, nursing home ombudsmen and special-needs transportation services
• Provide support to caregivers for the elderly through an information and assistance line and a comprehensive database of available services
• Help improve access to health care for the uninsured and underinsured

Efficient Transportation

• Develop and update plans for short- and long-term regional transportation investments
• Guide state and federal transportation dollars toward projects that meet long-term goals, developed through public input and evaluation processes
• Administer Operation Green Light, a system to ease congestion by coordinating traffic signal timing on major roads across city boundaries
• Lead efforts to implement the Smart Moves regional transit plan
• Promote transportation alternatives, including bicycle and pedestrian travel, and carpooling and vanpooling through RideShare
• Support Kansas City SmartPort's development of an international trade-processing center
• Evaluate the impact of development and land-use patterns on the region's transportation system
• Promote safe travel through the "Destination: Safe" Coalition's safety planning initiatives

Healthy Environment

• Encourage action to protect the natural environment through education and outreach
• Provide SkyCast, a daily forecast of air quality for the region, and develop plans for meeting national air quality standards
• Work with local governments and other agencies to develop best practices for stormwater management and protection of water quality
• Foster thoughtful land-use planning and resource protection using the region's Natural Resource Inventory
• Award grants for waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs through the MARC Solid Waste Management District
• Coordinate efforts to implement the MetroGreen plan for more than 1,100 miles of trails and greenways
• Develop "green" technical and leadership skills in the region through the Academy for Sustainable Communities

Effective Government

• Bring city and county administrators together through the Managers' Roundtable to find shared solutions to common problems
• Support cooperative purchasing that allows governments to save money by combining buying power
• Provide high-quality, cost-effective training to government employees, elected officials and nonprofit agencies through the Government Training Institute
• Address unique challenges facing older communities that surround the urban core through the First Suburbs Coalition
• Provide administrative, planning and informational assistance to small cities
• Collect, analyze and share regional maps and data for planning and forecasting
• Provide a forum for citizen engagement in regional affairs through One KC Voice