Douglas brings back online county budget challenge

Douglas County has re-launched last year’s popular budget challenge again, inviting citizens to an online conversation that will harness their input on the County budget.

Residents can participate in one of the budgeting exercises centered on the question, “How would you spend $500 to fund what is most important to you in Douglas County?”

Residents will also have the opportunity to make general comments about the budget process, upload photos or videos to illustrate their concerns or suggestions and put a value on the priorities they think are most important.

Feedback from residents and businesses is an important component of the budget process, and has generally occurred through budget workshops and community meetings. While the County will continue to hold its annual budget workshops as part of next year’s budget process, the online budget challenge will provide decision makers with valuable insight from the community before the annual budget process begins. The online budget challenge is now open and available on the County’s website at www.douglascountynv.gov until December 5th.

The results from last year’s budget challenge lead to the County making road funding a priority and continues to be an item of focus with the development of the road funding task force.

“The results from last year’s online Budget Challenge played a significant role in the County’s shift of over $1 million to fund road maintenance this year,”said County Manager Steve Mokrohisky. “As a local resident, your voice matters and we are using your feedback to prioritize where tax dollars should be spent.”

The online Budget challenge is a part of Douglas County’s Priority Based Budgeting process. Douglas County is the first County in the nation to implement Priority Based Budgeting, which was adopted as a leading practice in local government by the Alliance for Innovation and the International City/County Management Association.

The online budget challenge allows the public to distribute a fictitious $500 to the six Community Results (priorities) that the County strives to provide for the community, as identified through public strategic planning processes. The six Community Results are:
• Economic Vitality
• Managed Growth and Development
• Preservation of Natural Environment, Resources and Cultural Heritage
• Reliable, Well-Maintained Infrastructure
• Safe Community
• Financial Stability (Governance)

To access the Budget Challenge Forum, Citizens can access the Budget Challenge at http://www.peakdemocracy.com/1537 or by texting ‘subscribe’ to 775-309-4358. The on-line registration will ask for your name, email address and physical address. Your registration information is secure and will not be shared with any outside party. The physical address will allow responses from geographic areas within the County to be viewed, but the County and public will not be able to see the names of individual participants unless the participants chose to display their name. Once you have completed the registration process, you can choose from two forum versions:

1. $500 Budget Challenge – Quick Version (estimated time to complete 5 minutes), simply distribute your $500 amongst the six Community Results or establish new priorities.
2. $500 Budget Challenge – Extended Version (estimated time to complete 15 minutes), allows you to distribute your $500 to more detailed sub-results within each Community Result or establish new priorities.
Win a Spa Package and Dinner at David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort using Social Media
After taking the budget challenge members of the public can enter to win a package from Walley’s Hot Springs by posting the following as their status on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter:

I finished the Douglas County #budgetchallenge http://bit.ly/17fI4X1 4 a chance 2 win a Spa Pkg & Dinner @ David Walleys Hot Springs Resort.
Any residents that do not have internet access can come to the Minden Inn and complete online or obtain access at the Douglas County Library.

Douglas County has faced significant budget challenges over the past four years, driven by decreasing revenues and increasing expenses. At the same time, the demand for public services and costs from the state continue to increase. In order to manage the reduction in revenues and increase in expenses, positions have been eliminated, regional partnerships and privatization have been initiated, and employees have absorbed increases in health insurance and retirement costs, as well as salary cuts. Over 65 full-time positions have been eliminated and many more positions continue to be held vacant to reduce costs. In 2011 County employees took up to 5% pay cuts, which have not been fully restored, and also receive no merit pay increases. The County and its employees have agreed to three year personnel cost management efforts that have helped stabilize the long term growth in expenses.