For an agency that depends on the volunteer cooperation of its members, the Capitol Region Council of Governments has set a good example in its first 25 years. But it has always lacked the teeth required for the implementation of ambitious regional programs such as the merging of school systems and some key municipal government services.

CROG's value as a place where the representatives of the region's towns could discuss and solve mutual problems has been proven many times. It has become involved in a joint purchasing program, organized a successful regional narcotics task force in the 1970s and been a clearinghouse for census and other data useful to municipalities. CROG's staff helps local governments with planning and research problems.

With no impetus from the state or legislative directive to assume any greater power in the region, CROG has served well while not interfering with each member's independence. But it hasn't been able to slow the isolation of Hartford as a center of poverty. The disappointment is that, 25 years ago, the forward-thinking hoped that CROG would be the beginning of a metropolitan government. But the towns have clung to their home rule -- cooperating on issues such as trash disposal and recycling that do not diminish local power.

So while CROG's ability to serve its towns has been notable, the challenge to the municipalities it represents is to make it a more vital part of what should be a move toward true regionalization. Change likely will not come without a push from the state.

Developing the economic strength of the entire region and creating school systems for equal education will require a stronger regional agency with clout

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