About The Council |
The Corridor Council is a private, non-profit corporation composed of contributing members from the region's business and public sectors. Charter membership included 15 local governments and more than 60 private firms and individuals. The Corridor Council is not a political subdivision of the State of Texas, nor does it have any statutory authority. Rather, it derives its authority from the degree of consensus it can create around the issues it addresses.The Corridor Council traces its history to a regional forum in 1982 at which local leaders met to explore issues associated with economic development in an area being promoted as one of the fastest growing regions in the country. One of the key concepts to emerge from the conference was that cooperation could be the basis for continued regional economic development. Area leaders perceived that the region's growth presented not only a wide range of common problems, but also many joint opportunities. They perceived the need for an institution to more precisely define those opportunities and problems, and coordinate efforts to resolve them. Subsequent ad hoc task force meetings resulted in the constituting meeting of the Greater Austin - San Antonio Corridor Council in October, 1983. The organization was officially incorporated in February 1984, with the first staff hired in May of that year. The Corridor Council is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board acts as a forum for the discussion of regional issues, sets policy for the Corridor Council's programs, and hires and provides oversight to the Council staff. Approximately 50 percent of the funds used to finance the Council operations come from private sector memberships.. The remainder comes from contributions from the cities and counties in the region. Other sources of revenue come from contracts with public and private institutions, and subscription to Council publications. When the Corridor Council was created in 1983, its stated purposes were summarized in two major sets of objectives: 1. Those aimed at the promotion of the region's economic development; and 2. Those aimed at the long range planning and coordination necessary to assure that the process of growth provided the widest possible benefit and caused the least possible damage to the region's people, its institutions, and its environment. The Corridor Council continues these stated purposes today through our regional economic development efforts and our ongoing involvement in regional infrastructure planning and implementation. |