All the members of the Council are elected officials - either city or county council members, mayors, or the three county executives. It is also not regulatory. It is certainly a planning agency and everything it does is approved by the Council itself after public review and comment.

The four counties are inextricably linked by their transportation system, their economies and businesses, utilities, their education system, and their geography. The PSRC is the one place all four counties can come together to discuss and plan for matters of mutual interest.