As the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization and the state-designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency for Kern County, Kern COG is responsible for developing and updating a variety of transportation plans and for allocating the federal and state funds to implement them.
Although regional transportation planning is its primary role, Kern COG also functions as the state-designated Census Data Center Affiliate for the Kern Region and the Kern Motorist Aid Authority, which operates emergency call boxes on county highways and Kern 511; and provides leadership in the development of Geographic Information Systems in local government.
Following Board direction, staff coordinates between local, state, and federal agencies to avoid overlap or duplication of programs. This intergovernmental coordination enables staff to work with many public agencies to ensure that planning and implementation of programs proceed in a coordinated manner.
A description of tasks to be performed by Kern COG and the costs associated with them can be found in our Overall Work Program (OWP) and Annual Financial Plan.