Marvin Mandel, Governor                        1657

(e)  borrow money and apply for and accept advances, loans, grants,
contributions and any other form of assistance from the federal
government, the state, or other public body, or from any sources,
public or private, for the purposes of this act, and give such security
as may be required and enter into and carry out contracts or agree-
ments in connection therewith; and include in any contract for
financial assistance with the federal government such conditions im-
posed pursuant to federal laws as it may deem reasonable and
appropriate and which are not inconsistent with the purposes of
this act;

(f)  prepare a comprehensive regional plan and functional plans
for the guidance of the development of the Region;

(g)  as hereinafter provided, review any applications to agencies
of the state or Federal Government for loans or grants-in-aid for
projects by governmental subdivisions within the Region;

(h) review local plans, proposals for projects, and ordinances
having an impact outside the boundaries of the local government,
subdivisions and within the Planning Region;

(i) employ a director, engineers, attorneys, planners, consultants
and other employees, and prescribe their powers and duties and fix
their compensation;

(j) prepare studies of the region's resources with respect to exist-
ing and emerging problems of industry, commerce, transportation,
population, housing, agriculture, public services, local governments,
and any other matters which are relevant to regional planning;

(k) collect, process, and analyze at regular intervals the social
and economic statistics for the region which are necessary to plan-
ning studies and make the results available to the general public;

(l) participate with other government agencies, educational insti-
tutions, and private organizations in the coordination of the research
activities defined above;

(m) cooperate with and provide planning assistance to county,
municipal, and other local governments, instrumentalities, or plan-
ning agencies within the region, and coordinate regional area plan-
ning with planning activities of the state and of the counties, mu-
nicipalities, special districts, or other local governmental units within
the region as well as neighboring regions and with the programs
of federal departments and agencies;

(n) provide information to officials in state departments, agen-
cies, and instrumentalities; to federal, and local governments, and
to the public at large, in order to foster public awareness and under-
standing of the objectives of the comprehensive plan and the func-
tions of regional and local planning, and in order to stimulate public
interest and participation in the orderly, integrated development of
the region; and

(o) execute any and all instruments and do and perform any and
all acts or things necessary, convenient, or desirable for its purposes
or to carry out the powers expressly given in this section.

(5) Organization and Committees. The Council shall elect a chair-
man from among its members and shall publish rules and establish