Bringing Opportunities Home and LEAP Into Excellence

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

In the fall of 2007, Pasco County launched the LEAP (Lean, Efficient, accountable Pasco) into Excellence Initiative with the goal of improving service to its citizens and achieving excellence in government. What began as an internal process improvement project to reduce expenditures and increase efficiency has since blossomed into a county-wide effort to reshape government and improve the quality of life in Pasco. The project has touched every county department and engaged thousands of residents and county employees in creating a roadmap for the future. Elements of the project include mailed surveys, budget reduction efforts, county employee communication, and extensive communication efforts with the surrounding community. While the LEAP project is concerned with multiple aspects of governance, a key component from the beginning has been a broad and unprecedented Community Engagement and Public Education process that has targeted multiple audiences through multiple mediums. On the web, in the local newspapers, on government television and in dozens of public meetings and workshops, Pasco County has communicated to the public its efforts to right size government and gather input from multiple stakeholders, including county employees, customers of county services, community groups and elected officials.