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Four California counties recognized for best technology practices in nationwide Digital Counties Survey

Four California counties—San Diego, Sacramento, Nevada and Napa—received 2012 Digital Counties Survey awards this month for carrying out technology strategies with measurable benefits aligning with county priorities.

Conducted by the Center for Digital Government and the Digital Communities program —divisions of parent company e.Republic—in partnership with the National Association of Counties, the survey evaluated self-reporting entrants on their ability to demonstrate successful outcomes through the strategic use of technology. Ten winners were named in four population-based categories.

Survey questions addressed things like computing; network; applications; data and cyber security; governance; project management and funding; business continuity and disaster recovery; and citizen engagement through open government, online and mobile services, and social media. Members of the Center’s senior fellows and Center executives selected the winning counties.

Survey results showed that, as a whole, counties are focused on simplifying their information technology infrastructure and sharing systems with other governments during the economic squeeze. Eighty-eight percent of counties are pursuing federal grants to lessen dependence on the county general fund; 78 percent are pursuing joint service delivery (eight percent increase from last year); and 73 percent have planned reductions in staffing and hours.

"Many have found ways to provide better information security, transparency and citizen engagement with innovative uses of social media and advanced decision support tools," said Center for Digital Government Executive Director Todd Sander in a press release.

A broad range of best practices will be shared with participants and provide examples of excellence for articles, reports and webinars.

"The Digital Communities Program fosters the discussion of these best practices through its task forces, in-person meetings and publications," said Janet Grenslitt, Center for Digital Government director of surveys and awards.

Some highlights from top-ranked California Digital Counties:

San Diego implemented a power management system for 13,000 computers resulting in $139,485 in energy savings. The county also expanded its wireless network to support mobile devices, and its IT staff developed a VPN solution that maintained network connection throughout the day, cutting down on travel time by staff inspectors and saving an estimated $90,000 a year.

Sacramento was applauded for its website portal revamp and excellence in cyber-security as well as the merge of the two largest IT organizations to form a new Department of Technology, which saved over $1.25 million. The county also saves $210,000 a year by sharing existing fiber and wireless network infrastructure.

Nevada consolidated its virtual server to remove 85 physical servers from its data center, freeing up space for disaster recovery; replaced public CRM applications with a free cloud-based solution to allow stakeholders to report issues; developed a custom Medi-Cal claims billing reconcile system, enabling the count to collect $1 million in outstanding claims supplied to citizens; and revamped its website, saving taxpayers 20 percent annually.

Napa was recognized for green, money-saving practices, such as the implementation of mobile solutions like using iPads to view electronic agenda packets at Board of Supervisor meetings (estimated annual savings: $92,000), and a new criminal justice information system to reducing paper documentation.

Fore more information on survey results, visit digitalcommunities.com/survey/counties.