Commissioners' Initiatives

In addition to their daily leadership of the County, the individual County Commissioners spearhead special initiatives to improve public service and the quality of life in Boulder County.

As part of their commitment to fulfilling the Boulder County Mission to provide "the Best in Public Service," the Commissioners are leading the following initiatives:

	Public Service Chair: Ben Pearlman Purpose: To enhance the quality of communication between County employees and the public.
	Environmental Sustainability Chair: Will Toor Purpose: To implement environmentally sustainable operations and policies in County government and to foster sustainable practices in the wider community.
	Communication & Collaboration Chair: Cindy Domenico Purpose: To improve the quality of county government by fostering interdisciplinary work, standardizing policies and public data, and  coordinating project management between departments and offices.

Public Service

Headed by Commissioner Ben Pearlman, this committee is working to ensure that Boulder County employees truly do provide the Best in Public Service. The committee is examining and implementing ways to improve employees' communications and interactions with the public. Committee members are also focused on ensuring that residents have a positive interaction with their Boulder County government, whether in person, online or on the phone.

This initiative is divided into three sub-committees:

• Service delivery and experience: assesses the quality of existing Boulder County service and develops policies and procedures to ensure delivery of the Best in Public Service. Sets guidelines regarding expectations for personal contact with the public, phone and e-mail, hours of operation, referrals and more.
• Technology: Assesses Boulder County's current use of technology to serve the public and recommends policies, procedures and changes to make the best use of technology to serve our residents. This includes Web resources as well as other resources such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and accessibility for disabled individuals.
• "DESK": Short for Development of Employee Standards and Knowledge, this subcommittee focuses on getting employees the training, experience and information they need to serve the public in the best manner possible.

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Environmental Sustainability

Among Colorado governments, Boulder County is taking a leadership role in sustainability. Sustainability is a long-term goal that seeks to balance environmental, economic and societal needs. This involves the wise use of natural and economic resources and includes energy, fuel and resource efficiency; waste reduction; reuse and recycling; changes to building and land use; and a coordinated effort to educate and encourage the broader community to follow our example.

The County has long embraced sustainable practices such as recycling and minimizing the impacts of development. In November 2005 the Board of County Commissioners, led by Commissioner Will Toor, strengthened and broadened this environmental commitment by adopting a zero waste resolution and an energy resolution.

Some current projects that have arisen out of this initiative include:

• Land Use Code Update: County Land Use staff is currently working with the public to examine ways to fold “green” building practices and land use policies into the County Land Use Code.

• Policies to reduce/reuse: the county’s purchasing specialists rewrote policies so that external bidders must submit their bids for county business on recycled paper, print double-sided and take other measures to reduce paper consumption. Internally, purchasing policy has been adapted to require a minimum recycled content on ALL County paper purchases.

• Zero Waste County Fair: for the first time in its history, the Boulder County Fair became a zero-waste event in 2006, with programs to compost waste and reduce, reuse and recycle materials.

• Energy efficient “retrofits:” to increase energy efficiency, Boulder County has replaced heat-leaking windows in the downtown Courthouse building and replaced lights at the County Fairgrounds with brighter, more energy-efficient lights.

• Alternative energy: Boulder County brokered a deal with Xcel Energy in 2005 to use wind-energy supplies to provide power for approximately 50 percent of the County’s buildings.

• Fuel efficiency: Boulder County is purchasing hybrid fleet vehicles that are fuel efficient replacements for older vehicles; at the same time, employees are being educated about ways to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution by reducing idling and other actions.

• Greenhouse Gas Inventory: a consultant has completed an inventory of primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the county. County leaders will use this data to formulate a strategy to bring the county into compliance with Kyoto Protocol targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels.

• Alternative transit: to reduce pollution and fuel consumption, Boulder County has a full-time Alternative Transportation Coordinator and recently hired a part-time assistant to help promote alternative transportation among employees and the general public.

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Communication & Collaboration

Members of the public don’t often see the hundreds of daily interactions among staff members that make a government work. But those interactions - along with a strong atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration - have an enormous effect on the ultimate level of service enjoyed by the public. Commissioner Cindy Domenico is heading an initiative to improve inter-departmental collaboration and ensure that internal government operations run smoothly.

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