The Sparks Police Department HOPE (Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement) division was recently pleased to be named a finalist in the 2022 Cashman Good Government Award. The annual award is given by the Nevada Taxpayers Association to government entities and organizations that combine their workplace experience with ingenuity to deliver services that are better, efficient, and creating ways to make their services more affordable to their constituents.
The award was created in 1997 and named after the Cashman family. For more than a century, the Cashmans have been active in civic affairs and have taken a strong interest in the welfare of Nevada’s citizens. The award was established in their name to exemplify the goal of bettering Nevada’s communities.
All non-elected, fulltime employees in the State of Nevada (including school districts, universities, city/ county/state governments, and individuals) who display cost-effective, timely, and fiscally responsible service may be nominated for the award by a supervisor or a person independent from the nominee’s work unit.
This year, there were 18 entries for the Cashman Good Government Award with five finalists and two honorable mentions. Of the seven finalists and honorable mentions, six of those entities were from Northern Nevada. The Our Place Women and Family Shelter, a division of the Washoe County Human Services Agency, won the 2022 Cashman Good Government Award; the Nevada Taxpayers Association announced the winners at an awards presentation in Reno in late March.
“Police Chief Chris Crawford nominated his Sparks Police HOPE Team,” says Cindy Creighton, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association. “We open nominations after Labor Day and send notice to the city, county, state governments, school districts, and universities,” she adds. The nomination period closes at the end of November and the winner is announced early in the following year.
“There was a lot of good work done with the pandemic. Everyone had to pivot and figure out how to work better. When Amber Howell [of Washoe County Human Services] accepted the award, she acknowledged the Sparks Police HOPE Team for being a big part of their win. There has been a lot of collaboration with finding out how to do more in these extreme circumstances,” Creighton says.
The Sparks Police Department could not be reached for comment regarding the nomination, but according to its website it states that it is “very proud of [HOPE Team’s] dedication and hard work to better serve the Sparks community.”
The Nevada Taxpayers Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that was founded in 1922 and has earned an exemplary reputation for credible, thorough, comprehensive, and objective analysis focused on regulatory, tax, and fiscal policies. For more information about the NTA Cashman Good Government Award, visit www. nevadataxpayers.org. Nominations for next year’s award open in early September.
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