DENVER, CO – New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer announced that New Castle County’s Information System team has been ranked #5 nationally among countries with population 500,000-999,999, up two spots from last year’s ranking by the Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties.
The Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) released the winners of the 20th annual Digital Counties Survey at the annual NACo conference in Denver, CO. The survey, conducted by CDG in partnership with NACo, identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline delivery of government services, encourage open data, collaboration and shared services, enhance cybersecurity and contribute to disaster response and recovery efforts. The official announcement can be found HERE.
“I am proud of the work our Information Systems team performs every day to influence a culture of change and deliver cloud solutions that connect residents and businesses with convenient online services,” said County Executive Matt Meyer. “This award reflects a County Government that embraces technology advancement and recognizes the benefits of adopting best practices that enable enterprise-wide collaboration. In today’s world of delivering modern business solutions, Chief of Technology & Administrative Services Michael Hojnicki and his team are ahead of the curve.”
According to Center for Digital Government and NACo, “New Castle County stood out in this year’s survey for its planning around public transparency, civic engagement, economic development and departmental IT collaboration, among other aims. Despite last year’s challenges of continued telework, heightened cybersecurity threats and supply chain issues, the county managed to update its policies to establish a foundation for county services and fiscal planning.
Recent IT objectives included encouraging community dialog in government decision-making and maintaining a diverse and skilled workforce. To expand information transparency, county IT leaders also began to develop a website for American Rescue Plan Act allocations and started work to create an upgraded county website with improved navigation. IT leadership also submitted legislation to county officials to amend the current budget to purchase a cloud backup service, which was critical due to the growing threat of ransomware attacks. In addition, IT instituted cybersecurity awareness training and acceptable computer use policies into annual compliance training conducted through Human Resources to strengthen cyber hygiene without additional operating costs.
500,000 – 999,999 Population Category
1st Prince George’s County, MD
2nd DeKalb County, GA
3rd Snohomish County, WA
4th Cobb County, GA
5th New Castle County, DE
6th San Joaquin County, CA
7th Gwinnett County, GA
8th Ventura County, CA
9th Polk County, FL
10th Chester County, PA
About the Center for Digital Government
The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute focused on technology policy and best practices in state and local government. CDG is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.
About National Association of Counties
The National Association of Counties (NACo) strengthens America’s counties, including nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees. Founded in 1935, NACo unites county officials to advocate for county government priorities in federal policymaking; promote exemplary county policies and practices; nurture leadership skills and expand knowledge networks; optimize county and taxpayer resources and cost savings; and enrich the public’s understanding of county government.