“We have a culture of leadership and high performance in Douglas County,” said County Manager Steve Mokrohisky. “This award is dedicated to the leadership of the Board, the hard work of our employees and the thoughtful engagement of our residents.”
The Center for Priority Based Budgeting wishes to congratulate Douglas County, NV for being awarded the Cashman Good Government Award for the County's innovative budget solutions. Per the Carson Valley Times article, "In 2012, Douglas County became the first county in the nation to implement Priority-Based Budgeting, which shifts the annual budget process from across the board allocations to investing in the community’s highest priorities. Priority Based Budgeting has since been adopted by the International City/County Management Association and the Alliance for Innovation as a leading practice in local government.
Douglas County has used the process over the past two years to balance a $3 million annual structural deficit, invest over $1 million annually in existing revenue to road maintenance, and increase its bond rating for the first time in ten years and the highest in history."
Douglas County, Nevada has been one of the most successful implementers, and now practitioners, of Priority Based Budgeting. In fact, they were the first county in the nation to implement Priority Based Budgeting. Douglas County has also implemented a game-changing approach to citizen engagement. In 2012, the County embarked on the Priority Based Budgeting
process with one of the primary objectives being to bring their community into
an ownership position with respect to decision making. What unfolded in their
groundbreaking use of an online tool to engage citizens sets the bar at a whole
new level in participatory budgeting (see story here). Not only that, but the County's bond rating
was affirmed as a result of their work.
Another example of the County's success is how they prioritized spending to fund long-awaited transportation infrastructure needs with their shift to Priority Based Budgeting. See Douglas County newsletter article "Priority Budgeting Leads to $1 Million for Roads." Based on their progressive series of successes, the County was asked to present a case study at CPBB's "Summit of Leading Practices" conference held in July 2013. See the full Douglas County, NV slide presentation here.
In an interview with The Record-Courier, Steve states, "I spoke on a panel with the Las Vegas City Manager about budget innovations in local government. Douglas County is the first county in the nation to implement Priority Based Budgeting and has had some early success in stabilizing our revenues and expenses through five year financial forecasting, engaging taxpayers in how limited resources should be spent, and shifting our budget process to focus on investing in the areas of highest priority to the community.
The board’s action this year to shift over $1 million in property tax funds to road maintenance, as well as ending some lower priority programs, are good examples of how we can and should be spending tax dollars in a responsible and accountable fashion. We are now seeing other cities and counties around the country follow our lead. Placer County, Calif., and others have asked us to present our story to their leadership teams." Read the full interview here.
Congratulations again to Douglas County, Nevada, for using Priority Based Budgeting to achieve Fiscal Health and responsibly allocate scarce resources for the overall benefit of the community!
If you're thinking of jumping into the world of Fiscal Health and Wellness through Priority Based Budgeting we would certainly like to be part of your efforts! Contact us to schedule a free webinar and identify the best CPBB service option(s) to meet your organization's particular needs.
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