FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2013
Batavia, OH – The Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo) announced the winners of their 2013 Digital Counties Survey earlier this month. Clermont County ranked 7th in the nation for this significant award. The recipients are U.S. Counties that set leading national examples relating to information and communications technology.
Winners are selected based on the innovative use of social media and advanced decision support tools to provide information, security, transparency, and encourage citizen engagement. The survey is conducted in partnership with NACo annually and the awards are presented during the NACo annual conference each July. “Counties across the country are aligning technology initiatives with executive strategic priorities to provide vital cost savings andadministrative efficiencies,” said NACo Executive Director Matthew D. Chase. “The Digital Counties Survey identifies best practices and innovative uses of technology crucial with today’s constrained budgets to maintaining and even improving service levels.”
This year, counties received awards for overcoming tough fiscal barriers in order to improve government services and efficiencies. Clermont County ranked highly based on the exemplary response during the EF3 tornado that struck on March 2, 2012, and the prompt activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Clermont County web-based system allowed for area partners and agencies to coordinate resources and minimize duplication ofservices. The EOC supported the local Incident Commanders and first responders. They also coordinated resources across the impacted jurisdictions and successfully transitioned the recovery effort to the Ohio Valley Long Term Recovery Committee (LTRC). The EOC then used the data collected to manage ‘after action’ reports and to enhance future responses.
All Clermont County websites run from a custom-developed content management system. Which allows our front-line staff to update and maintain our information as quickly as possible while our technical staff can focus on building custom tools for the sites. Clermont County continues to push for more transparency through social media venues such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, making sure that citizens receive the county news they want through a variety of online sources.
Brian Dunkle, Clermont County Office of Technology Communication and Security Director, is very proud of his staff for contributing the time and resources necessary to participate in the survey this year. “I would like to thank everyone who helped OTCS complete the lengthy application process and acknowledge the dedicated team who strive every day to present Clermont County in a positive light and provide citizens the services they seek,” said Dunkle.
Clermont County is also leading the way in other areas of government. The Commissioners recently announced their ambitious Community Alternative Sentencing Center (CASC) program, an alternative treatment program for female offenders convicted of minor drug or alcohol offenses. Clermont County Jail is currently functioning at about forty inmates above capacity for the female facilities, meaning some have had to be transferred to facilities in othercounties. Once fully-funded and operational, this program would allow us to stay at capacity and will be offered to judges in surrounding counties to help minimize their inmate population issues as well. Clermont County is the first in the state of Ohio implement an alternative sentencing program for non-violent misdemeanor offenders.
On behalf of Clermont County, Commissioner Ed Humphrey accepted the survey award presented by the Center for Digital Government. Clermont County placed seventh nationwide for technology use of counties in a 150,000-249,999 population range. “We try to lead by example and leverage the size of the County to our advantage,” said Commissioner Humphrey.
This year’s survey was underwritten by CDW-G, Dell, EMC, McAfee, and Sprint.
Pictured: Ed Humphrey, President of the Board of Clermont County Commissioners, accepting Digital Counties award for technology from Mark Costenbader, Dell.
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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Annette Meagher at (513) 441-9647 or by e-mail, ameagher@clermontcountyohio.gov.
Congratulations to the all the 2013 Digital Counties Survey Winners!
500,000 or more population category:
1st Montgomery County, MD
2nd Hennepin County, MN
3rd County of San Diego, CA
3rd Fairfax County, VA
4th King County, WA
4th Oakland County, MI
5th Fulton County, GA
5th Prince George’s County, MD
6th Sacramento County, CA
6th Westchester County, NY
7th Baltimore County, MD
7th Snohomish County, WA
8th Wake County, NC
9th County of San Joaquin, CA
9th Orange County, FL
10th Tarrant County, TX
10th Tulsa County, OK
250,000-499,999 population category:
1st Chesterfield County, VA
2nd Dutchess County, NY
3rd Loudoun County, VA
4th Douglas County, CO
4th Washoe County, NV
5th Clackamas County, OR
5th Leon County, FL
6th Hamilton County, IN
7th Bell County, TX
8th Howard County, MD
9th County of Ottawa, MI
10th Cumberland County, PA
150,000-249,999 population category:
1st Catawba County, NC
2nd Arlington County, VA
3rd Lackawanna County, PA
4th Gaston County, NC
5th Dona Ana County, NM
6th County of Sussex, NJ
7th Clermont County, OH
8th Cabarrus County, NC
8th Davidson County, NC
9th Mohave County, AZ
9th St. Tammany Parish , LA
10th Boone County, MO
Less than 150,000 population category:
1st Charles County, MD
2nd Allegan County, MI
3rd Nevada County, CA
4th County of Albemarle, VA
5th Roanoke County, VA
6th Napa County, CA
7th Martin County, FL
8th Franklin County VA
9th Gloucester County, VA
10th County of Moore, NC
Selected Survey Findings:
How ready is the county to deal with the following IT challenges?
Consolidating services across agencies
68% – Fully Implemented
Use of mobile devices, e.g. tablets for government business
60%- Fully Implemented
Integrating internal applications with smart phones and tablets
42%- Fully Implemented
Telework and issues such as code changes
56% – Fully Implemented
Policies on BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
46% – Fully Implemented
Measures to Deal with Economic Downturn
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The Center is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event and research company focused on smart media for public sector innovation.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is a full-service organization that provides legislative, research, technical, and public affairs assistance to county governments. Created in 1935, NACo continues to ensure that the nation’s 3,068 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress. http://www.naco.org
