2400 E Fort Ave
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 962-4290
Representing the soldiers and sailors of Fort McHenry and the citizens of Baltimore from the War of 1812 to World War II.
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) works collaboratively with the chief elected officials in the region to create initiatives to improve the quality of life and economic vitality. BMC, as the Baltimore region’s council of governments (COG), hosts the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB), the federal metropolitan planning organization (MPO), and supports local government by coordinating efforts in a range of policy areas including emergency preparedness, housing, cooperative purchasing, environmental planning and workforce development. BMC’s Board of Directors includes the executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties, the mayor of the City of Baltimore, a member of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, a member of the Maryland State Senate, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, and a gubernatorial appointee from the private sector. Regional planning in the Baltimore region started in 1956, when the Maryland Department of Planning created the Baltimore Regional Planning Council. In 1963, the Regional Planning Council emerged as a separate state agency. The name of the organization was changed to Baltimore Regional Council of Governments (BRCOG) to reflect the RPC’s resolve to serve as the regional voice of local government in 1989. Finally, in 1992, the Maryland General Assembly dissolved BRCOG and created BMC as a private nonprofit organization of the region’s elected executives, to meet the need for a smaller, more efficient organization. The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is an invaluable link between federal funds and regulations, state and regional decision-makers, transportation planning entities, project and initiative stakeholders and the people. The forum and resources BMC provides allows for thoughtful and progressive regional planning efforts of short- and long-term projects.