A new website improves the County’s ability to provide emergency information to residents; a media campaign encourages San Diegans to talk about mental illness; and a floodplain management program lowers flood insurance bills for homeowners in the unincorporated area.
Those were just some of the 39 excellent programs from San Diego County that won National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards.
“We are extremely pleased that our programs are being recognized on a national level,” said Walt Ekard, Chief Administrative Officer. “These awards show that San Diego County employees are always striving to improve how we serve the public — that we don’t just do public service, we do public service better.”
The new portal emergency website, SDCountyEmergency.com, is an example of how the county continues to seek better ways to communicate critical, real-time information to our residents. The site was re-created using cloud computing technology to ensure the site would not slow down or crash due to high traffic, and would be compatible with mobile devices.
The “It’s Up To Us” mental health media campaign was developed to reduce stigma, prevent suicide, and encourage people to seek help for their mental illness. Since the launch of the campaign in September 2010, their website has had more than 65,000 unique visitors and they received more than 600 calls to the Access & Crisis Line.
The flood insurance program is another good example of improving services. At the time the program was submitted for award consideration, unincorporated residents were already eligible for a 15 percent discount on flood insurance policies. But the County has done even better. The program was recently re-evaluated and residents now may cut 20 percent off their flood insurance bills.
The NACo Achievement Awards recognize innovative programs that modernize county government and increase services to residents. Winning programs are selected from 21 categories that include criminal justice, county administration, environmental protection, health, information technology, and children and youth.
San Diego County and Los Angeles County tied for the most awards this year. Maricopa County in Arizona came in second with 33 winning programs. The awards ceremony will be held July 15 in Pennsylvania.
