Check out the CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government’s great line-up of lifelong learning opportunities for California counties coming up at the end of July and in August. The focus is on budgeting and financial management. Plus perfecting your presentation and media relations practices. Read on for the details and register now. Class size is limited and they fill quickly. 

The Institute expands the capacity and capability of county elected officials, senior executives and managers to provide extraordinary services to their communities. Classes are open to all county staff and elected officials. They are an affordable $149 each and include instruction, class materials and lunch. Discounts available when registering for three or more classes.

Upcoming Classes

Making an Impression: Effective Media Practices

Friday, July 28, 2017 – 10:00 to 3:30 – Sacramento Campus

Every call from the news media for an interview presents both risk, and an opportunity to make a positive impression. This course helps seasoned professionals and elected officials understand the news media, how it works and why it works the way it does. The course will also help polish interviewing skills, staying on message and bridging back to main messages. The course covers practical strategies for planning, preparing and delivering interviews that get your message across in a way that will be retained by the audience. Participants build their skills for live, taped and phone interviews. Hands-on work includes practice labs, videos and constructive critiques from media professionals. Instructors are David Liebler, CSAC Director of Public Affairs and Members Services and a former journalist; and Betsy Burkhart, Communications and Media Director for Contra Costa County.

Fiscal Health Diagnosis and Practice for Counties 

Friday, August 4, 2017 – 10:00 to 3:30 – Sacramento Campus

NEW!  This course provides practical information and tools to identify, manage and communicate fiscal challenges faced by counties. It explores practices for long-term financial analysis and planning to gain stability in services, staffing and messaging to the media and other stakeholders. Discussion identifies indicators of financial distress, gimmicks and short-term fixes often employed to mask that distress, and long-term best financial practices to understand and mitigate threats. A hands-on practical exercise is featured, using the recently developed California County Financial Health Diagnostic tool, with participants walking away with a five-year financial forecast of county General Fund and/or special revenue funds, indicators of the health of those funds, and practical advice on how to communicate results. Instructors are Martin Polt, Deputy County Executive Officer and CFO of Nevada County, and Christina Rivera, Deputy County Administrator of Sonoma County. 

IT-Focused Contracting with Cloud/Hosted Providers

Thursday, August 10, 2017 – 10:00 to 3:30 – Sacramento Campus

External services are attractive. They enable organizations to tap into economies of scale – and with the advent of cloud/hosted deployments, IT services can be procured at exponentially cheaper rates. However, entering into complicated agreements with multiple vendors requires an equally sophisticated contract administration system to manage procurement, negotiate (and renegotiate) terms, take advantage of promotional pricing and licensing, and coordinate payment schedules. Without proper vendor management, organizations miss out on potential cost savings to be realized within their contracts, and in a county government a dollar saved on service agreements is an additional dollar to create municipal services. This course examines concepts and tools to establish a process to govern the selection of vendors and subsequent management of vendor relationships, risk and performance.  

Polish Your Presentation: Advanced Practices in Communication

Friday, August, 11, 2017 - 10:00 to 3:30 – Sacramento Campus
Thursday, August 17, 2017 – 10:00 to 3:30 – Contra Costa County Campus – Course is Full!

This intense class helps senior managers and elected officials better present their ideas with conviction, control and poise - and without fear. The course covers specific skills and advanced techniques for delivering professional presentations that get results. Participants examine their presentation style, learn to use tools to organize their presentation and communicate their thoughts, and handle difficult situations. A straightforward presentation model helps participants build their self-confidence and overcome the common mistakes which turn off audiences. Use of graphics and presentation tools are also examined. Through a lab, participants work on improving one of their own presentations. You’ll be learning all the presentation secrets of instructor Bill Chiat, Dean of the CSAC Institute and an accomplished presenter with city, county and state governments.

State Budget 101: What Counties Need to Know

Thursday, August 24, 2017 – 10:00 to 3:30 – Sacramento Campus

Did you ever wonder how the Governor made that budget decision or why it changed in May? Or do you want to find out how the Legislature changes the Governor’s proposal or how counties can influence either the Governor or the Legislature? This is the class where you can learn the budget basics and answers to those questions and so much more. Learn about who influences – and how they do it – the state budget process, policy and politics. It’s an inside look at a complex process which influences virtually every aspect of county operations. Learn about how to find and interpret budget information and a few tips about influencing the budget decisions. Now with current 2017-18 budget info. Instructors are Diane Cummins, Special Advisor to the Governor on State and Local Realignment; and Jean Hurst, Principal with HBE Advocacy and long-time legislative advocate on local government finance.