Public Service Recognition Week

Training and Employee Development

May 4 thru 10, 2009

Public employee in the U.S. and around the world take part in the annual celebration. Festivals, open houses, parades, community clean-up days and fund-raising events to benefit charity are just some of the ways that public employee s around the country reach out to their communities. One reason negative stereotypes about public employees abound is the fact that the public has very little knowledge about how government services benefit their every day lives. Our goal is to educate the residents of Sonoma County on services provided by the County of Sonoma.

County of Sonoma

The County of Sonoma has 28 departments with approximately 4000 employees who provide a multitude of services to the people of Sonoma County.
It’s often easy to recognize the contribution Sonoma County workers make to our quality of life. For instance, when a Sheriff Deputy’s car whizzes by with lights and siren it’s easy to see the value of County services. Other times, it’s a little harder to recognize. There might be a seal on a gas pump showing that it’s been tested for accuracy or a certificate of cleanliness at a restaurant, your ballot and voter information in the mail, water comes out of the tap, or you can flush and forget.

Then there are those who do jobs we, perhaps, don’t like to think about; County workers who investigate cruelty to animals, remove children from dangerous situations, and care for those kids who don’t make it out in time.

To honor those who do the work of the public the County of Sonoma will celebrate Public Service Recognition Week, a national program that focuses on the contributions public employees make to our society.

And those contributions are many. Thanks to County workers in 2007 nearly 1.5 million pounds of toxic household chemicals are properly disposed of, 1,400 animals were adopted out to suitable homes, 13,000 packages were inspected for pests, and 3,100 homes visits were made to ensure teen parents and their kids were safe and healthy, that’s nearly ten per day!
Since 1997, the County has been setting aside the first week in May to inform the public about the work that public employees do, work that otherwise may not get done. It also provides an opportunity to educate our youth on the benefits of public service and career opportunities.
So, the next time you see that sheriff car whiz by, maybe take a moment to think about all the work being done that is less visible but no less valuable.

County Services

The information here is to raise public awareness on services provided by the County of Sonoma. You can select the department link to receive additional information on each department or go to www.sonoma-county.org and choose a department from the drop down menu.

Agricultural Commissioner’s Office

Agricultural Commissioner Facts

County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor

Sheriff’s Department

University of California Cooperative Extension

UCCE Facts

Sonoma County Water Agency

Water Agency Information

Sonoma County Waste Management Agency

These documents are saved in Adobe Acrobat format and you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the reports. Visit our page to download Acrobat Reader.

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Training and Employee Development