UPDATED: Macomb County back on top for 'good government' awards

UPDATE: This updated version includes a few details (below) about each of the award-winning programs.

Macomb County is back on top as the No. 1 recipient in Michigan of “good government” awards presented by the National Association of Counties.

Macomb was recognized with 13 NACo Achievement Awards, winning half of the 26 honors granted statewide in Michigan’s 83 counties. NACo awards single out innovative, effective county government programs that enhance services for residents.

“Our goal is always to run Macomb County government as efficiently as possible and receiving these awards demonstrates we are doing so effectively,” County Executive Mark Hackel said.
Macomb County was Michigan's leader in NACo awards for 26 consecutive years until 2008, when a series of budget cuts and a reduction in the workforce took hold. The winning streak began in 1981 and Macomb typically secured a spot among the top 10 counties in the nation.
With the county back on top in Michigan, this year the Macomb County Clerk’s Office received six NACo awards, the Information Technology Department received four awards, the Health Department snagged two honors and the Planning and Economic Development garnered one.
 

Here are the details on the award-winning programs and services:

Clerk's Office

* Jury room kiosks -- Kiosks let jurors check-in for jury duty and then to other clerk services they need.

* Election text/email reminders -- Voters and candidates can sign up for automatic email or text messages of campaign finance filing deadlines and election dates.

* Square payment processing -- Newly implemented, streamlined credit card acceptance and payment processing eases the payment process for customers and staff.

* Online marriage application process -- Applicants can apply for a marriage license online, saving time for them and reducing data entries for clerk's staff.

* Vote-bot -- A robotic “vote-bot” promotes voter registration at annual voter registration drives by answering election questions and calling attention to the need for voter registration.

* Real estate fraud alert -- Homeowners can sign up to receive an email alert when a document regarding their property is presented for recording, providing a way to detect potential fraud.  

Information Technology Department
* Fleet maintenance consolidation -- An IT software was established to standardize fuel consumption data and fleet maintenance.
* Jail inmate locator -- A web-based application was launched that contains detailed information on county jail inmates including charges, booking, release and court dates, fees and fines and visitation opportunities.

* IT Department reorganization -- Beginning in March 2013 the department reorganized the workplace structure for its 42 employees and created a new Project Management Office.

* Website conversion -- A conversion of the public website created an open-source system with a customized design by recreating nearly 4,000 web pages to the new platform.

Health Department

* Emergency preparedness -- The Medical Reserve Corps began an outreach program in fall 2014 that provides a 40-minute educational presentation to fifth grade classrooms about the importance of emergency preparedness.

* Breaking language barriers -- A program was created that provided car safety seat education for families with low English language proficiency.

Planning and Economic Development

* Closing skilled-trade gap -- PED partnered with numerous agencies to provide students with a hands-on look at the modern manufacturing world.

 

Sabaugh

NACo awards are given in 21 different categories of services, including children and youth, criminal justice, county administration, environmental protection, information technology, health, and civic engagement.

“I am proud of our union staff who worked with me to achieve these awards. These awards show that Macomb County is a place for innovation and good public service,” Clerk Sabaugh said.