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Do-It-Yourself Brochures Can Be Localized for Your County

Among Tom Green County’s efforts to increase awareness of county government has been regular publication of a 56-page booklet describing each county department.

Production of the well-done book, titled A Look Inside Your County Government, is coordinated by County Treasurer Dianna Spieker. It’s been her job every year to oversee the compilation of detailed office descriptions, department head photos and current phone numbers of every county department, and then get the book printed for distribution to the general public as well as public school and college students.

Problem is, over a two-year period, things change. Department heads take other jobs, people pass away, office-holders resign. As soon as that happens, the carefully prepared book – printed in batches of 500 – is out-of-date.

Now, the county is also using a do-it-yourself brochure template that the National Association of Counties provides online so that any county can prepare their own pamphlets using Microsoft Word or Indesign software.

Anne Bramble, Tom Green’s executive director of administrative services, said she localized the NACo tri-fold template so that Tom Green citizens would have a quick reference tool for county services.

“I really like the format because it provides not only phone numbers for the most frequently contacted departments, but also brief descriptions of each office,” Bramble said. The template also offers localization for commissioner precincts, county-specific budget/tax data, other helpful phone numbers and local “fast facts.” Bramble said much of the information was available by asking County Auditor Nathan Cradduck.

“We were putting the information together during budget hearings and he had all the information back in my hands the same day I asked for it,” she said.

And because the template can be customized according to local needs, Bramble changed the publication’s red color scheme to green, as in “Tom Green County,” and converted its fonts to a western-style typeface to reflect the county’s West Texas character.

Bramble said the smaller brochures are easily carried in purses or coat pockets for officials to distribute to the public and she expect many county departments to display them on the countertop.

Meanwhile, Spieker will continue to produce the larger booklet for use when officials give longer presentations to civic groups and school classes. “If you’ve only got 10 or 15 minutes to speak, the pocket version is perfect. But if you’re trying to explain more about what the county does, the longer version is a good tool to explain the county in greater detail,” she said.