2015 ​Awa​rds​​​

Cross Connection Portal Wins PTI Significant Achievement

On October 12, the Environmental Management Department’s (EMD) Cross-Connection Control Program Web Portal was awarded the Public Technology Institute’s (PTI) 2015 Technology Solutions Significant​ Achievement in Web Management & E-Government. The prestigious Solutions Award is given to local government agencies that leverage technology to create real world solutions that can be replicated by others. Since 2012, EMD’s Portal has saved more than 3,300 staff hours and $6,000 in mailing costs, annually.

“Green” Fleet Services Ranked 25th in Nation​

In September 2015, Sacramento County’s Fl​eet Services took 25th place in a competition hosted by 100 Best Fle​ets. The awards represent government fleets and are based on a comprehensive set of criteria including green fleet sustainability and utilization, using a mix of conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as integration of renewable and alternative fuels, implementation of supportive programs, informed of new technologies and relaying that information to County executive staff. 

County Recognized for Excellence in Financial Reporting

The Sacramento County Department of Finance is receiving the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for the County’s ​Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014. This prestigious national award recognizes conformance with the highest standards for the preparation of state and local government financial reports and must be easily readable and efficiently organized, and conform to program standards, accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year and this is the 26th year the County has receive the Certificate of Achievement.

EMD’s Abandoned Well Program Receives the CSAC Merit Award

Sacramento County Environmental Management Department (EMD) received the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Merit Award for an innovative program to identify and properly close abandoned water wells which are a hazard and a potential source of groundwater contamination. Wells constructed prior to the County’s permitting programs and now abandoned or improperly sealed are difficult to locate. This program uses a database management system with integrated GIS mapping along with public outreach to identify and properly address abandoned wells that pose a threat to groundwater quality and are a falling-in hazard to people and animals. As of June 2015, more than 770 abandoned wells have been identified.

Sacramento County Wins 2015 Best of the Web

To be the “best of the best” has always been the goal for the County’s website, and over the years it has been fortunate to be in the top five. But, 2015 is the year Sacramento County receives first place honors from e.Republic's​ Center for Digital Government Best of the Web Award. The annual Best of the Web Award is in its 20th year and remains the most popular state and local government website competition. Every year government organizations throughout the country look to the top five Best of the Web winners as a benchmark of outstanding government portals and websites. Learn more about the 2015 Best of the Web Award.

Sacramento County Earns PTI Tech Savvy Designation

The County is one of three jurisdictions nationwide to be presented with the Public Technology Institute (PTI) 2015 Tech Savvy Designation for a culture of excellence and meeting or exceeding all of the following: Ethics Adherence; Performance Management Practices Embraced; Department Directors Regularly Promote Communication/Collaboration around IT Solutions; Professional Development Encouraged; Jurisdiction-Wide Technology Plan Created; Active Training/Awareness of Cybersecurity; Enterprise-wide Green Technology Initiatives; Embrace a Culture of Technology Innovation; and Adhere to a Stated Standard of Excellence. Learn more about what the County did to earn this prestigious ho​nor.

Transportation APWA Project of the Year

The American Public Works Association (APWA) Sacramento Chapter granted Sacramento County’s Department of Transportation (DOT) Project of the Year Award for the Watt Avenue at U.S. Hwy 50 Interchange Improvement Project where DOT planted more than 24-acres of water-efficient landscaping, including 370 new trees along with other helpful improvements. The APWA local chapter’s awards program recognizes public works projects that demonstrate excellence in management, administration, design, construction and community relations, as well as the alliance among the managing agency and the consultant/engineer/contractor who worked together to complete the project. Learn more.

​​California Department of Public Health-Emergency Preparedness Office, Promising Practice Award

Health Program Coordinator, Hannah Aalborg, of Sacramento County Public Health received the 2014-2015 “Promising Practice Award” for her work on developing a Medical Countermeasures (MCM) Plan Template. The new template, compliant with FEMA’s guidance, is succinct, well organized, and creates best practices for ease of use, flexibility and standardization for mutual aid. This template was made available to 61 California Public Health Preparedness programs to use in developing their local MCM plans. Read the complete details of the award.  

National Achievement of Excellence in Procurement

The Contracting and Purchasing Services division of General Services has recently been recognized with a successful score from the National Procurement Institute (NPI) on behalf of the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Committee. This award is given annually to procurement agencies that show excellent qualities in innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership. Contracting and Purchasing Services has won this award for the eleventh time. NPI will list the 2015 award ​recipients on their website.

3rd Nationally for Best Technology Initiatives

Sacramento County moves up a slot to again achieve top ranking for its commitment to engaging citizens and businesses and streamlining operations using technology initiatives. The Center for Digital Government’s 2015 Digital Counties Survey places Sacramento County in third out of hundreds of U.S. counties vying for a spot in this vigorous measure of technology performance and innovation. Only those counties revealing best practices and developing trends in their use of technology are fortunate enough to be considered as a top qualifier. The core of the technology survey questions focused on citizen engagement, policy, operations and technology/data. Learn more.

National NACo Award Given to Probation Program

The Probation Department’s award-winning Break Away Bike Program has also won the National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award. The successful program gives donated bicycles to Adult Drug Court participants who lack the means to attend their mandatory treatment sessions and court appearances. The bicycles must be earned through consecutive negative drug tests and also allow program participants opportunities to go to jobs, attend school, or visit family.  In October 2014, the program also won the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Challenge Award – an award given to only 11 other county programs in the state. The Break Away Bike Program, which aims to incentivize sobriety through reward, has now reached national recognition with NACo’s 2015 Achievement Award in the category of Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Sacramento Tree Foundation Growing Greenprint Award 

Sacramento County’s pride in improving every aspect of the community, especially when it comes to preserving the environment, was recognized by the Sacramento Tree Foundation at its annual awards ceremony for Tree Heroes. The County was honored with the G​rowing Greenprint award​ for committing to the cultivation of an improved urban forest through policy and by planting and protecting the trees in Sacramento County.

BREATHE California Clean Air Awards​

Waste Management and Recycling (WMR) was recognized by Breathe California of Sacram​ento-Emigrant Trails at their 39th annual Clean Air Awards luncheon for their 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by converting its collection fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Additionally, WMR has cut more than 2,000 hours of 2 cycle gas trimmer use, which can emit up to 50% exhaust fuel as unburned hydrocarbons, and instead is using 1,000 sheep and goats to reduce vegetation at Kiefer Landfill. Also given an award was Judy Robinson, Sacramento County Sustainability Manager for her leadership throughout her career to improve health and the quality of the built environment for residents of Sacramento County.​

PTI Technology Solutions Award: Re-engineered Network - Increased Security, Cost-Savings  

Sacramento County has a Wide Area Network that supports integrated voice, video and data internally. However, the County also delivers external services to public safety partners.  Sacramento County was recognized by PTI with this Technology Solutions Award for migrating from a legacy IP network to Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), which will implement advanced data encryption, reduce malware compromises, and reduce maintenance, labor and toll costs, as well as positioning the County for enhanced collaboration applications.​ 

PTI Technology Solutions Award for Cyber Attack Defense Best Practices 

Sacramento County is always on high alert to protect valuable information assets. However, every day, cyber criminals are constantly testing the information security perimeters of every business and government organization. Sacramento County was recognized by PTI with this Technology S​olutions Award​ for having adaptive, multi-layered “defense-in-depth” strategies to combat ever-changing cyber-attacks. Measures are taken at the firewall, intrusion protection systems are on the perimeter and intrusion detection systems are at the network layer, to create a hard outer shell with a platform that catches newly contrived attacks.​

Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers

Annually, Government Technology chooses 25 individuals or teams throughout the US, who achieve public sector technology innovation with transformative ideas and honors them as the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers.  On that impressive list is Rami Zakaria, Sacramento County’s CIO and Director of the Department of Technology, who was recognized for continuing a massive IT consolidation effort, which saved millions of dollars and improved IT services to internal and external customers. He also redrew IT governance, gave greater emphasis to countywide IT priorities and continues to modernize the county’s digital infrastructure and develop information security strategies.

TransitAction – Regional Transit Excellence Awards

Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SACDOT) received the TransitAction Organization/Agency of the Year Award, which recognizes a public-sector organization that champions Sacramento region public transit programs that help improve mobility, relieve traffic congestion and promote transit ridership. SACDOT received the award is that as a transportation agency, the department fully supports all modes of travel and proactively looks for opportunities in development of roadway infrastructure projects to include transit, bicycles and pedestrian facilities. An example of this can be seen at Watt Avenue/US-50 Interchange Improvement project, a Bus-Rapid-Transit ready facility was constructed and delivers as a unique new component of the RT bus system. Learn more.

Honored with the Vision Award from American Planning Association (APA) Sacramento Valley Section

Awarded for work done to shape the building environment in Sacramento County to support a healthy lifestyle, Design 4 Active Sacramento (D4AS) team, which includes Sacramento County Public Health Officer, Olivia Kasirye and Sacramento County Principal Planner, Judy Robinson were honored with the Vision Award from the Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association (APA). The Vision Awards annually go to individuals, organizations and projects that have made exceptional contributions to create places that challenge the community to think differently about how environments can affect health. Learn more.

​​For questions or additions to the page please contact sacpio@saccounty.net​​​​​