Document Type

Report

Publication Date

12-2012

Subjects

Infrastructure (Economics), Local government -- Environmental aspects -- Oregon -- Yamhill County, Sustainable development -- Law and legislation -- Oregon -- Yamhill County

Abstract

Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government (PSU), and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), has formed a partnership to develop Sustainable Municipal Operations Plans that documents sustainability and energy management best practices. The goal of this partnership is to determine how a county/municipality can actively manage energy as a controllable expense by following a predetermined operation protocol. The PSU team developed a framework of best practices for sustainable municipal operations in different categories including facilities, fleet, purchasing, operations and the work environment. After identifying pilot jurisdictions, the team applied these best practices to the current operations of local governments in Oregon with limited capacity to do so independently. A list of criteria was used to select the jurisdictions based on the commitment to sustainability and executive level management support. Yamhill County was selected as a pilot for these reasons following detailed conversations with County Commissioners and administrators on the issues the team would be investigating. The results of this project are intended to both serve as a foundation for each jurisdiction to move forward with implementing improvements, and also as a starting point in learning new and innovative approaches to sustainable operations in municipal and county governments.

The PSU team, compiled of experienced practitioners, worked with Yamhill County initially to provide clarity around the goals and deliverables of the project, solidifying the commitment of the County to provide information and relevant data for the purpose of drafting this report. We visited the County on numerous occasions to understand the current operations, state of facilities, challenges and opportunities for the county and staff.

The following report provides an overview of our process working with Yamhill County to collect and gather information, our findings and recommendations for both the immediate and long term, as well as suggested strategies for implementation.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16327

Download

Share

COinS