Regional Chamber plans regionalization summit

A panel will discuss unifying Trumbull and Mahoning counties’ 911 centers.

YOUNGSTOWN — All local government officials and employees are invited to the Regional Chamber’s Regionalization Summit from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 19 at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty.

The conference is part of the chamber’s effort to promote regionalization that its officials say will save taxpayer money and improve the economic vitality of the area.

Keynote speakers include:

UKimberly Gibson, the Ohio Department of Development’s special assistant for energy, transportation and regional collaboration. She will talk about new initiatives by the state to promote regional collaboration.

UDavid Y. Miller, an associate dean and associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He’ll discuss approaches to practicing regionalism in metropolitan areas.

Unifying 911 centers

There will be a panel discussion on how to unify Mahoning and Trumbull counties’ emergency 911 centers, an issue that has been discussed for years. Before that, Glenn Evans, a Delaware County commissioner, will discuss his involvement in the recent effort to combine the 911 centers in the city of Delaware and that county.

The program also includes a discussion led by an official with the Northeast Ohio-based Fund for Our Economic Future about the organization’s support of a study on revenue sharing among local governments to spur economic development and a study on the costs of government fragmentation.

The event is free. The registration deadline is Oct. 12. To register, contact Gwen Lewinsky at the chamber by telephone at (330) 744-2131, ext. 32, or gwen@regionalchamber.com — her e-mail address.