ABOUT
Incorporated in 1973, the South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG) is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation composed of member municipalities who voluntarily collaborate to pursue and address areas of mutual interest and concern. Within that framework, it undertakes projects and implements programs for the benefit of its members while taking advantage of the economy of scale afforded by its size. Currently, SHACOG serves

• 22 municipal members
• a population in excess of 312,000
• a geographic service area of 223 square miles
• 22 police departments
• 434 uniformed police officers
• 40 fire departments (mostly volunteer)
• 1,300+ firefighters

The tangible benefits achieved through this association are in either the form of actual savings (like that which is realized through the SHACOG Purchasing Alliance), avoided administrative costs (as is done with the complex multi-municipal bid for Solid Waste Collection, Removal and Disposal), or the ability to do collectively what no one municipality can effectively accomplish individually (such as the development, training and staffing of the SHACOG Critical Incident Response Team).