Regional Services

The Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) is a voluntary association that provides cost-effective and high-quality services through a regional program.

Since 1969, COG has provided financially prudent, quality public services to the approximately 93,000 residents that call the Centre Region home. These include emergency management; parks and recreation; refuse and recycling; water and sewer; code enforcement; transportation; library services; planning and administrative services.

Halfmoon Township joins the Borough of State College and the Townships of College, Ferguson, Harris, and Patton as the six principal COG member municipalities.

COG programs are funded by member municipalities, and the cost to each is determined by a variety of formulas to ensure each locality contributes its fair share based on its respective usage of each program. The most common funding formula is based on three equally weighted elements: population served (excluding Penn State students), assessed value of properties, and Earned Income Tax.

Centre Regional Planning Agency

The CRPA provides both regional and local planning services to its member municipalities. 

Local Planning services involve staff support to individual municipalities to address more localized planning issues. These services include the review of subdivision and land development plans, preparation of ordinances and regulations to implement the regional comprehensive plan, special studies related to specific issues or areas within a municipality, and staff support to municipal planning commissions.

Regional Planning services include the preparation and maintenance of the regional comprehensive plan, and special studies and planning activities related to sewer, water, land use, open space, recreation, demographics, environmental, community facilities or transportation issues. The Agency promotes dialogue among the member municipalities to develop cooperative solutions to regional problems.

Emergency Management

Pennsylvania Title 35 requires municipalities to adopt an emergency operations plan, designate an emergency operations center, and recommend the appointment of an emergency management coordinator. Since 1990, on behalf of its six member municipalities, the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) has operated a regional emergency management program.  Coordinating their efforts with the Pennsylvania State University, Centre County Office of Emergency Services and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the municipalities adopted a single emergency operations plan, designated a shared emergency operations center, and recommended the appointment of an Emergency Management Coordinator.

The Centre Region Emergency Management Council, consisting of the municipal manager from each participating municipality, the COG Executive Director, the Vice Chair of the COG and a Pennsylvania State University representative, has oversight of the Centre Region Emergency Management Program.

For more information about the Centre Region Emergency Management Program, email or by phone at (814) 235-7838.

Schlow Centre Region Library

Headquartered in downtown State College, Schlow provides books, e-books, videos, and other services to the Centre Region.

Schlow Library is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees appointed by the municipal governments in the Centre Region. The Board of Trustees monthly meeting is typically held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:00pm in Schlow’s Downsbrough Community Room. The public is welcome to attend. The current Halfmoon Township Board of Trustees representative is Sharon Rovansek.

Other Regional Services

In addition to the Centre Region Council of Governments, Halfmoon Township also participates in other regional services. The following are links to other organizations that provide services to Halfmoon Township:

In case of an emergency, residents may want to provide emergency responders with confidential information about anyone in the home who may have special needs, advanced medical conditions, or who will need assistance in the event of an emergency or evacuation. While Halfmoon Township does not offer this service, Centre County does. Learn more.

If you’re in a house or building you think may be on fire, leave immediately and call 9-1-1 using a cell phone. Or call from a nearby house or business. Never go back inside a burning building where you could be trapped. 

For more information regarding Halfmoon Township’s participation in Centre Region Programming, please click here.