As the head of the Parks and Recreation Department, she was responsible for creating the winning entry—the "Balance or Bust" board game that made its debut earlier this year at the Cupertino Community Congress.

A spin around the board takes players through a hypothetical fiscal year in Cupertino where $2 million in cuts are needed, with potential windfalls and disasters along the way.

But Smith never expected to win an award for her invention. "When they announced our name, people were laughing," she says. "The game must have been offbeat enough to get people's attention."

The specific award was a Grand Prize in the Internal Administration category. The city also won an Award of Excellence in Planning and Environmental Quality for the visioning exercise it held for residents interested in the fate of the Stevens Creek Corridor. The awards are named for a former president of the League of California Cities and mayor of Petaluma.

The city has only won honorable mentions before from the League of California Cities.

Smith and Marie Preston, an administrative assistant with the department, attended the conference in Long Beach to man a booth demonstrating both projects. "We knew we were going to be recognized somehow," Smith says. "When we got to the booth, we saw two plaques—one for the award of excellence and the other for the grand prize. But we didn't know which project won what."

The booth and the award pumped up interest in the board game, which Smith came up with earlier this year when faced with a dwindling budget. "Most of the Parks and Rec budget is discretionary, and we knew we were facing a tough budget cycle," she says. "I got this idea for a game so we could get feedback just on Parks and Rec services." But when Smith took the idea to Mayor Sandy James and asked for a half-hour at the Community Congress to play the game, James said that the game should encompass the whole city's budget.

It took a lot of work to assemble the game and do the research to tailor it to Cupertino's needs. For that reason, the city hasn't begun mass-producing the game for other municipalities that are interested. "We've had 10 requests at this point, but Marie hand-cuts the cards," Smith says. "We're just making it available electronically." Cities can print out the kit and personalize it for themselves.

So far, the city isn't charging for the kits, though Smith says that could change if the requests increase. The board game is scheduled for a profile in the league's Western City Magazine, which will likely increase its visibility.

The response has also been great from within Cupertino. After residents played the game at the Community Congress in March—and found themselves having to deal with an unexpected earthquake or with a flood of cash from a new hotel during the game—it's made rounds among school groups and the Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute.

One resident even brought by a $100 contribution to the Fourth of July fireworks display in exchange for a copy of the game.

"We got a great response from people," Smith says. "It's eye-opening how much something like turning off every other street light will save. It's quite useful—and fun to play."

The city will receive its award—a table piece with etched glass—at the city council meeting on Oct. 4.