EXECUTIVE BRANCH: REGIONAL AGENCIES


                      REGIONAL AGENCIES
The following agencies were created by state law to function in one specific
area of the state, usually
an area comprising more than one county. Some or all of the members of these
commissions are
appointed by the governor.





                 REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSIONS

  Chapter 466, Laws of 1955, created Section 66.945, Wisconsin Statutes,
which governs the
state's regional planning commissions. Chapter 466 authorized the governor
or a state agency
designated by the governor to create a regional planning commission upon
petition by the gov-
erning body of a local governmental unit. Chapter 596, Laws of 1959, amended
the law to
require a public hearing on such a petition unless the governing bodies of
all the local govern-
mental units in the proposed region have joined in the petition. Chapter
596 also made the
governor's power to create a regional planning commission contingent upon
the consent of the
governing bodies of local units that include more than 50 percent of the
region's population and
equalized assessed valuation. Since enactment of Chapter 466 in 1955, the
law has required the
governor to find a need for a commission and to take into account common
elements such as
geography, uniformity of interests, and areawide problems when designating
a commission's
area and boundaries.
  A regional planning commission may conduct research studies; make and adopt
plans for the
physical, social, and economic development of the region; advise local governmental
units on
regional planning problems; and act as a coordinating agency for local programs
that relate to
the commission's objectives. State law requires the commission to adopt a
master plan for the
physical development of the region.
   The membership of regional planning commissions varies according to conditions
defined by
 statute. The term of office is 6 years, except when local governments adopt
resolutions that
 establish both commission membership and term of office.
   Chapter 225, Laws of 1971, provided that territory within a regional planning
commission
comprising one county or less may be included in the creation of a multicounty
regional planning
commission. The existing commission must then adopt a name other than "regional
planning
commission" and relinquish its authority to receive financial support
from participating local
governmental units.
   Under Section 66.30, Wisconsin Statutes, Wisconsin's regional planning
commissions have
 established the Wisconsin Council of Regional Planning Organizations. The
council's purposes
 include facilitating studies of common problems and serving as an information
clearinghouse.
   Wisconsin currently has the following regional planning commissions:

                         Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission

 Members: PAUL J. WOLSKE (Kewaunee County), chairperson; NICK STRICKER (Florence
   County), vice chairperson; NORMAN STEGMANN (Door County), secretary-treasurer;
WILLIAM
   CLANCY, SAMUEL HALLOIN, SARAH THULEN (Brown County); CLIFFORD DELORIT,
GEORGE
   EVENSON (Door County); EDWIN KELLEY, JOHN ZOELLER (Florence County); ROBERT
ENTR-
   INGER, CLARENCE IHLENFELDT (Kewaunee County); ANTHONY V. DUFEK, STEPHEN
NENONEN,
   DONALD REHBEIN (Manitowoc County); RICHARD EGGENER, CHERYL MAXWELL, WALTER
   STEPNIAK (Marinette County); DONALD GLYNN, Lois TREVER, LAURENCE RUPIPER
(Oconto
   County); JAMES GILLIGAN, RICHARD SCHNEIDER, DIRK ZYLMAN (Sheboygan County).
 Executive Director: ROBERT L. FISHER.
 Mailing Address: Suite 211, Old Fort Square, 211 North Broadway, Green Bay
54303-7001.


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