Nevada County has been awarded two of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) 2018 Challenge Awards for outstanding county programs. CSAC's annual statewide program honors innovation and best practices in government. With a record number of 275 entries this year, Nevada County won the Challenge Award for our Ask Nevada County App and Web Tool, and the Merit Award for our Nevada County Budget Analysis Interim Program.
Nevada County's Ask Nevada County App and Web Tool that Nevada County residents can use to immediately report hazards, ask about road work activities and get updates on projects or other issues they care about. Ask Nevada County allows residents to upload pictures, drop a pin at their location, and track submitted service requests. Requests are automatically routed to the appropriate staff to address the issue and County staff is able to respond to 90% of submitted requests within 7 days or less. Since the launch of the Ask Nevada County app in 2016, the County has received more than 1,420 public requests including drainage concerns, pothole and pavement maintenance concerns, and roadside tree, vegetation, and brush concerns.
Nevada County's Budget Analysis Interim Program is a six-week training opportunity for employees to gain a higher level of experience in the budget development process. With approximately five weeks to review and validate more than 48 departmental budgets for presentation to the Board of Supervisors budget subcommittee, which is responsible for reviewing all budgets and recommending adoption by the full Board, Interim Budget Analysts from other County departments assist the County Executive Office during the budget process while benefitting from on-the-job training in the budget and finance area. Since the program began three years ago, nine employees have participated and three have been promoted within the organization. All Interim Budget Analysts have brought their knowledge back to their County departments where it is applied to budget development in future fiscal years, all at zero additional cost.
For more information on California counties award-winning programs, visit CSAC's website.
