Leander now has a voting position on the Transportation Policy Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or CAMPO.

Leander City Council voted unanimously Sept. 5 to nominate Mayor Troy Hill to be the city’s voting member on the board. CAMPO is the transportation planning organization for Central Texas.

The organization’s Transportation Policy Board makes decisions on how to allocate state and federal transportation funding to regional projects. It is composed of 21 representatives from counties and cities in Central Texas.

Cities with populations over 50,000 can elect members to the board, according to CAMPO’s Community Outreach Manager Doise Miers. The annual U.S. Census population indicates Leander now has more than 50,000 people, making it eligible to select a voting representative.

As a voting member, Hill said his goal is to help the city’s mobility.

“I want to help us expand our infrastructure, which will help other towns between here and Austin,” Hill said.

Leander has been a member municipality of CAMPO, meaning the city benefits from being part of the planning area that CAMPO considers in long range plans, and it is eligible to apply for and receive federal and state dollars CAMPO allocates, according to Miers. While Cynthia Long, Williamson County commissioner for Precinct 2, which includes Leander, is a member of the board, now Leander has a voting member that specifically represents its jurisdiction.

According to a written statement from the city of Leander, the addition to the board is beneficial to the growing city.

“Our involvement in long-range transportation planning with fellow city and county CAMPO members is critical to helping us successfully manage the exponential growth we expect will continue in the coming years,” the statement said.

The first Transportation Policy Board meeting Hill is eligible to attend is Sept. 9, Miers said.