The Center for Digital Government (CDG) has put a spotlight on Accela customers at its 2018 Digital Counties Survey that honors counties that have implemented innovative technology practices.
The CDG identified nine Accela customers that placed in the top three of their respective categories in a press release Wednesday. Among these waso Sonoma County, California, that won first place for counties with 500,000 to under a million residents; Arlington County, Virginia, that took first for counties with 150,000 to under 250,000 residents; and Nevada County, California, that ranked first for counties of up to 150,000 residents.
CDG announced the 63 winning counties with the National Association of Counties that partnered with the CDG to conduct the analysis. In its 15th year, the survey highlights counties that have leverage digital tools and strategies to streamline service delivery, fortify cybersecurity, increase transparency through open data and strengthen disaster response and recovery. Accela and Microsoft were underwriters of the event along with ten other technology companies.
“Innovative counties are utilizing technology and data to better inform and protect themselves and their citizens, to save taxpayer money and to provide a better citizen experience,” said the CDG’s Executive Director Teri Takai, who is also the former CIO for the U.S. Department of Defense. “The Center for Digital Government congratulates this year’s winners for all the efforts they are making to improve the lives of their residents and others.”
Adding to Takai’s praise for the winners, NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase said that this year the counties exemplified efficient government, showing that technology can be beneficial no matter the department or service type.
“Effective technology has proven to be a key tool for efficiency in many facets of county government,” Chase said. “We applaud this year’s Digital Counties Survey winners for showcasing the value of innovation and adaptation. Their embrace of cutting-edge approaches has benefited residents while ensuring good stewardship of taxpayer resources.”
When wildfires struck Sonoma County last fall, the CDG and NACo said the county displayed an exceptional amount of resilience when it joined with the city of Santa Rosa to develop a response and recovery website that provided the latest updates on fire containment, debris removal, shelter locations and housing options for displaced residents.
The CDG and NACo also honored Arlington County for its use of smart city technologies that included a new open data portal, a data analytics program and a data science partnership with Virginia Tech. Nevada County was honored for a wide variety of technology initiatives such as its “Participate Nevada County” crowd-sourcing website to gather community ideas, cybersecurity improvements, and adoption of cloud technologies.
As part of the survey, analyst identified the top 10 technologies that are likely to get additional support by counties in 2019, with cybersecurity in the top spot, followed by technologies for disaster recovery, in second; citizen engagement, in third; IT staffing in fourth; and transparency and open data rounding out the top five. Beneath these categories mobile technologies took sixth, budget and cost control, seventh; business intelligence, eighth; collaborative services, ninth; and networking, broadband and connectivity, tenth.
Accela county customers ranked in the top three positions of their category.
1,000,000 or More Population Category
– Fairfax County, Virginia — 3rd
– King County, Washington — 3rd
500,000 – 999,999 Population Category
– Sonoma County, California — 1st
– Gwinnett County, Georgia — 2nd
– San Mateo County, California — 3rd
250,000 – 499,999 Population Category
– Chesterfield County, Virginia — 2nd
150,000 – 249,999 Population Category
– Arlington County, Virginia — 1st
– Cabarrus County, North Carolina — 3rd
Up to 150,000 Population Category
– Nevada County, California. — 1st
Full 2018 Digital Counties Survey winner results published by the Center for Digital Government
1,000,000 or More Population Category
1st Montgomery County, MD
2nd Wake County, NC
3rd Fairfax County, VA
3rd King County, WA
4th County of Los Angeles, CA
4th Oakland County, MI
5th County of Sacramento, CA
6th Miami-Dade County, FL
6th San Bernardino County, CA
6th County of San Diego, CA
7th County of Alameda, CA
8th Cook County, IL
8th Tarrant County, TX
9th Orange County, FL
10th Palm Beach County, FL
500,000 – 999,999 Population Category
1st County of Sonoma, CA
2nd Gwinnett County, GA
3rd County of San Mateo, CA
4th County of Ventura, CA
5th Prince George’s County, MD
6th Snohomish County, WA
7th DeKalb County, GA
8th Douglas County, NE
9th Baltimore County, MD
9th County of Chester, PA
10th San Joaquin County, CA
250,000 – 499,999 Population Category
1st Dutchess County, NY
2nd Chesterfield County, VA
3rd Frederick County, MD
4th Douglas County, CO
5th Durham County, NC
6th Dakota County, MN
6th Santa Cruz County, CA
7th Hamilton County, IN
8th Washoe County, NV
9th Erie County, PA
9th Leon County, FL
10th Bell County, TX
10th Clackamas County, OR
150,000 – 249,999 Population Category
1st Arlington County, VA
2nd Charles County, MD
3rd Cabarrus County, NC
4th Boone County, MO
5th County of Davidson, NC
5th Pitt County, NC
6th Delaware County, OH
7th Union County, NC
8th Onslow County, NC
9th Paulding County, GA
10th Jackson County, MI
Up to 150,000 Population Category
1st Nevada County, CA
2nd Albemarle County, VA
3rd Allegan County, MI
4th Mono County, CA
4th Montgomery County, VA
5th Napa County, CA
5th Roanoke County, VA
6th Franklin County, VA
6th York County, VA
7th Skagit County, WA
8th Summit County, UT
9th Chatham County, NC
10th Gloucester County, VA
