Community Participation Organizations

CPOs encourage and empower public involvement

Local CPOs provide a place for community members to: ​

• Get unbiased information about issues relating to local and county services. 
• Engage with local government and agency representatives, elected officials, and community leaders.
• Work as a group in an advisory role to the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

Neighbors working together

CPOs focus on the topics that affect how and where people live, such as transportation, parks and trails, housing and business developments, safety, public health, emergency planning, education, the environment and more. To participate, start by signing up to receive monthly updates about local CPO events and community engagement opportunities. Drop in at a CPO community meeting. Open to all community members, CPO meetings provide a place where ideas can be exchanged, local issues can be discussed, and neighbors can work together to affect change in their communities. Hosted by volunteer leaders, meetings include informative presentations by County staff, agency reps, local service providers and project managers which keep residents informed about what is happening in their communities. See CPO Meetings and Events page.

Once you get involved, you will soon learn that you can have an impact on what happens in your community!

A County and community partnership

Washington County CPOs are led by community volunteers and supported by the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (OEICE) to provide a forum

for people to come together, share ideas, hold discussions on local issues, and work together to improve the quality of life in their communities. The investment of volunteer time and energy, the passion individuals have for making a difference where they live, and the collaboration of community and local government are the key elements of this program’s long history of success.

As a part of Washington County’s mission to “encourage meaningful participation in community activities and County governance”, the County puts the community at the center of this unique program. Working alongside CPO volunteer leaders, the OEICE provides administrative support and guidance. 

What CPO leaders can expect from the County 

OEICE program coordinators serve as liaisons to specific CPOs and work closely with CPO leadership, as needed, on a range of activities in three areas: meetings and events, leadership recruitment and development, and general program support. The needs of individual CPO leaders vary in many aspects of CPO coordination.

The following describes the types of support program coordinators provide to CPO leaders as needed.  

Meeting and Event Preparation 

Agendas:  

• Offer topic ideas 
• Work across departments and other agencies to assist CPO leaders in identifying and contacting presenters 
• Help develop agenda content, including additional information of interest such as leadership recruitment, engagement opportunities or other related events  
• Produce and finalize agendas.  

Meeting Promotion: 

• Send agendas electronically to each CPO’s subscriber list  
• Post meeting details and agendas on County CPO webpages and calendar  
• Produce communications including Nextdoor posts, Facebook graphics if applicable (Facebook pages are the sole responsibility of CPO leaders and are not connected to the County Facebook page but if a CPO chooses to have their own Facebook page, County staff will make graphics available for them to use in their CPO related Facebook posts. 

Support:

• Staff work with leaders on meeting logistics such as securing a meeting venue, providing Zoom links and support for virtual meetings, supporting the use of hybrid meeting technology kits available to CPO leaders 
• Collect and file meeting minutes and attendance sheets for in-person meetings and collect attendance information from Zoom for virtual meetings, Maintain subscriber lists for each CPO and provide CPO leaders with lists of community members who have opted to receive communications directly from CPO leaders, in addition to CPO communications from the County  
• Provides CPO communications, phone and email support including creations and maintenance of standardized CPO leader Gmail addresses.  

Leadership 

Recruitment:

• Program coordinators work with the CPO to plan for upcoming CPO leadership elections  
• Develop, email and post on the County CPO webpages recruitment announcements 
• Update all formal documents, communications and subscriber lists with newly elected leadership.

Development: 

• Works with CPO leaders to develop and host an annual new leadership training  
• Provide trainings related to civil rights, discrimination and harassment free workplace and other related topics that support centering all community engagement on equity, diversity, and inclusion.
   

CPO Re-envisioning

In December 2021, the County Board of Commissioners approved the launch of a process to update the CPO Program. There will be more details to come when this process is begun, but in the meantime, the Board presentation, memo and meeting recording can be found here.
 

Historical CPO Program documents

R&O 80-108: Community Planning Organizations
This Resolution and Order (R&O) formally recognized Community Planning Organizations (currently known as "Community Participation Organizations") as Washington County's vehicle of compliance with the citizen involvement provisions of the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission Goal 1, the Washington County Comprehensive Framework Plan and the Washington County Community Development Ordinance. It established the philosophy, purpose, scope and structure of the CPO Program.

R&O 86-58: Citizen Participation Policy
Adopted by the County Board on June 3, 1986, this R&O established the County's Community Participation Policy which recognized that community participation is of paramount importance to the effective operation of county government, and with that, the County would ensure opportunities for community members to contribute to the decision-making process of their county government.

R&O 01-75: CPO Boundary Map
Adopted by the County Board on June 26, 2001, this R&O establishes new CPO boundaries and implements the process for changing boundaries in the future.

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If you have questions about how to connect with your local CPO, please reach out to: [email protected]​

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