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Washington County lays out plan to modernize community participation programs, promises summer outreach and new KPIs
Summary
County staff told commissioners they will end the current CPO geographic structure, focus future outreach on county services, add performance metrics and hold a final combined CPO meeting April 24; intentional outreach including listening circles, pop-ups and language-access sessions will follow over the summer.
Washington County officials presented a plan March 17 to modernize the county's CPO and CCI community participation programs, saying the change will replace a 40-year-old structure with a model centered on county services and measurable performance indicators.
Ann Ober, assistant county administrator, introduced Alicia Sojourer, director of Access and Opportunity, who told the Board of Commissioners the county will end the CPO geographic structure and focus engagement on services and accountability. "We know the CPO geographic and structure will end," Sojourer said, adding that staff will track who the county reaches and how through key performance indicators.
Sojourer gave a multi-step timeline: individual CPO meetings continue through March, the final combined CPO meeting will be held April 24 as a hybrid event in the county auditorium, staff will conduct intentional outreach in May'July, and OAO will synthesize feedback in August to develop the operational model targeted for launch in September or October. Staff said they will return to the board in August with a full summary of community input and a proposed model.
The outreach plan includes eight district-level listening circles (two per district), two culturally centered sessions with community-based organizations, three partner conversations with jurisdictions and special districts (staff cited sheriff's office participation as an example), at least 10 pop-up events at community gatherings, four targeted language-access sessions (one confirmed in Spanish), and a youth-focused session. The county will also run an online survey developed with Dr. Aster Pritchard to broaden participation.
Commissioners asked how the county will maintain Goal One (land use public engagement) while the CPOs are phased out. Sojourer and staff said Land Use & Transportation (LUT) staff, including Stephen Roberts, are rewriting the relevant ordinance; the ordinance is expected to come to the board in September. "Part of what they need to do is rewrite their ordinance," staff told the board, and they pledged to provide a memo and additional packet materials that more clearly describe which office will manage each part of the Goal One process during the transition.
Several commissioners also raised practical concerns about accommodations for CCI steering committee members during the gap period, including requests for meeting space and assistance with communications to keep volunteers connected. Staff acknowledged capacity constraints and committed to follow-up: "We can continue conversations with the steering committee members," Sojourer said, and promised a packet addition and a leadership update next week to clarify engagement pathways.
The board asked staff to post the presentation materials and any follow-up memos on the county website so community members can easily track the schedule and next steps. The county emphasized that the intention of the modernization is to retain transparency and legal compliance while building sustainable, accessible engagement processes.
