Supervisor Brown honored as “official of the year”
An influential Web site which covers local California governments has named Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ Chair Valerie Brown as the 2009 County Official of the Year.
According to publicceo.com, Brown, “a tireless advocate for Sonoma County,” was selected for her outstanding commitment to the community as demonstrated through years of service to the public. Brown was a member of the Sonoma City Council before being appointed a county supervisor in 2002.
In addition to her role as chair of the board of supervisors, Brown is president of the National Association of Counties and is active in statewide organizations such as the California State Association of Counties.
County Administrator Veronica Ferguson stated, “Valerie is one of the county’s greatest boosters. She is constantly working on our behalf, sharing Sonoma County’s innovative programs with others and seeking out new ideas to pioneer here in Sonoma County.”
Brown, “truly understands counties of all sizes, and she understands and values the people who have committed themselves to public service,” said Paul McIntosh, executive director of the California State Association of Counties. “As with any effective leader, Valerie is a great listener. She listens, she learns and then she acts.”
publicceo.com provides an informational online exchange for administrators of California’s 480 cities, 58 counties, and 2,300 special districts.
Census questionnaire assistance centers opening
Questionnaire Assistance Centers throughout Northern California opened Friday, March 19 for those needing help in filling out the 2010 census form.
The U.S. Census Bureau will staff more than 30,000 Questionnaire Assistance Centers around the nation, where people can get help with their forms in multiple languages.
The centers are scheduled to operate from March 19 to April 19. The locations are temporary and may change, depending on levels of local assistance needed by residents. Center locations can be found at 2010census.gov.
It costs the government just the price of a postage stamp when a household mails back the 10-question form, which should take just 10 minutes to complete. It costs the Census Bureau $57 to send a census taker door-to-door to follow up with each household that fails to respond.
For more information about language assistance guides and translations of the form, which are available in 59 languages, visit 2010census.gov. Telephone assistance in filling out the form is available in Spanish 866.928.2010, Chinese 866.935.2010, Vietnamese 866.945.2010, Korean 866.955.2010 and Russian 866.965.2010 in addition to English 866.872.6868. Deaf and hard-of-hearing persons can call the TDD number: 866.783.2010.
