Cabarrus IT department earns place in Digital Counties Survey
Published on July 18, 2024
Cabarrus County Government’s Information Technology Systems (ITS) Department earned second place in the 22nd annual Digital Counties Survey, held by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo).
The award came in the 150,000 – 249,999 population category, which Cabarrus won in 2021 and 2019. The County has placed in the top 10 of that category for the past 12 years.
Cabarrus landed the spot for projects improving infrastructure, prioritizing interactions with residents, developing a stand-alone website for the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and utilizing bots.
One of the most significant developments in IT infrastructure has been the opening of a new department home, which is a 12,000-square-foot facility designed to enhance interaction and collaboration among staff.
The ITS team turned to video conferencing and Yealink phones to better serve residents relying on the County’s social services. Video visits by social welfare staff, made available by Microsoft Teams and video-enabled phones, have been used more than 2,000 times since October 2023, cutting down on travel time and other inefficiencies.
ITS also developed a stand-alone website for CCSO to help constituents to more easily locate services offered by the Sheriff's Office.
The county deployed numerous bots that upload GIS data on a nightly basis to support the next generation 911 system. This level of automation saves 10 hours of staff time a week. Another automation for printing and scanning documents has reduced printing of more than 10,000 pages a year.
“I am proud of our ITS team and the work we do to consistently rank high among government technology departments across the nation,” said Cabarrus County Chief Information Officer Todd Shanley. “We are dedicated to providing quality service to our residents, which is directly related to efficiency and collaboration among departments."
The Digital Counties Survey was developed in partnership with NACo and conducted by CDG. The survey identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including developing initiatives that streamline delivery of government services; providing data analytics to allow decisions based on performance and outcomes; enhancing cybersecurity and applying innovative and emerging technologies to county priorities.
To learn more about the 2024 Digital Counties Survey, visit www.govtech.com/dc/digital-counties/digital-counties-survey-2024-winners-announced.