San Rafael, CA – A new website and video from the County of Marin showcases what’s being done and what’s planned to address some of the most urgent priorities of the Marin County Board of Supervisors for the next year: sustainability, equity, and performance management.
Some of the most urgent priorities of the Marin County Board of Supervisors for the next year are sustainability, equity, and performance management.Staff from the County Administrator’s Office showed the 6.5-minute video and webpage during the January 29 Board of Supervisors meeting. The message demonstrates how community input and trusted data help drive the decision-making process at the County. The content is featured on www.marincounty.org/StateoftheCounty.
“To effectively address our most challenging issues we need the help of our residents and community partners,” County Administrator Matthew Hymel said. “With their input and engagement, we can better address these important community priorities.”
Collecting and sharing data online is a key focus for 2019 and the years ahead. County staff is regularly uploading data sets to Marin County Open Data, an information bank that includes statistics ranging from neighborhood demographics to reported crimes and ambulance responses. This year’s State of the County web presence was placed on Marin Open Data to use data as a both a storytelling tool and a progress indicator for each of the three focus areas.
Equity is a top priority for the County because fairness in delivering government services is about eliminating gaps among different populations to increase the success of all. In Marin, the ongoing housing crisis has brought these gaps to light, as a result, this year’s message on equity is a housing message. The County views access to stable housing to the underserved as the cornerstone of equity, providing the opportunity for access to better health care, jobs and educational opportunities.
Sustainability and the Drawdown: Marin unified approach to climate change solutions help localize one of the most urgent global issues of our time. The six focus areas of Drawdown: Marin are the use of 100 percent renewable energy, low-carbon transportation, efficient building, local food and food waste, carbon sequestration, and climate resilient communities. While the County has greatly reduced its own carbon footprint in the past decade, it’s looking to inspire residents to take action in their homes and communities so that together we realize dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions countywide. In short, the Drawdown movement is challenging all of us to come together and change the way we live and work.
The performance management priority is called Marin Compass, a new program that measures how well goals are being reached while factoring in resident input. Data collection and follow-up analysis are critical to how the County measures its progress. As a steward of public resources, the County is connecting top administrators, rank-and-file employees and the community – a welcomed addition – to the managers who measure progress.
“Our three top priorities are about deeply examining how we live in this County and what we can do now to bend the arc of climate damage to protect people and the planet,” said Supervisor Kate Sears, the Board of Supervisors President for the calendar year. “Our goal is to have government and community work collaboratively to meet current needs, prepare for emergencies and build a climate resilient future. By gathering information and data with the community’s help, we get a better, more accurate picture of the challenges and opportunities we have to create a better, more inclusive and equitable community that works for everyone, especially people left out and struggling.”
The County staff strives to improve informational transparency and encourage more resident involvement in the democratic process. Opting for a brief, catchy multimedia package rather than a traditional, lengthy report is part of an overall outreach program designed to make the County and its work more understandable and approachable.
For those who love to dive into the numbers, a budget overview and a chart on where your tax dollars go can be found on the County website. Anyone may sign up to receive emailed County news, notices and meeting agendas directly in their inbox.