2020 Helen & Alan Berg Good Governance Award Nominees

Hermiston - Capital Improvement Plan Website

The City of Hermiston debuted www.hermistonprojects.com in January 2020, the culmination of nearly three years of effort to increase public transparency in capital planning and investment in water, sewer and street improvements.

Work to compile and quantify necessary system improvements while developing a sustainable funding plan began in 2017. The City Council Public Infrastructure Committee hosted several work sessions to refine the plan in 2018, and the City Council adopted its first comprehensive water, sewer, and street Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in January 2019, outlining $20 million in investment over five years. The CIP was a tangible document to show the public how their funds would be used for long-term infrastructure work.

To translate the document into an accessible format, Hermiston staff spent 2019 developing www.hermistonprojects.com.

The website sorts projects by department and status, enabling the public to review planned, in progress, and completed projects or view them on an interactive map. Each page includes descriptions, cost projections, timelines, photos, and links to media coverage. This format acts as an easily referenced library of past projects, as well as a sharable source of ongoing projects to news media and social media channels. The site is updated regularly, and when a project concludes a final cost and explanation for savings or overrun is included.

Learn more about Hermiston's Capital Improvement Plan Website