Mt. Clemens, MI - The National Association of Counties (NACo) has announced Macomb County as a recipient of four 2021 Achievement Awards.
The annual award program, now in its 51st year, recognizes innovative and effective county government initiatives that strengthen services for residents. Awards are given in 18 different categories, including children and youth, criminal justice, county administration, information technology, health and civic engagement.
“I’m pleased to have Macomb County once again recognized by the National Association of Counties,” said Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel. “Our elected officials, department leaders and county employees remain committed to serving our residents, and they have been working tirelessly over the last 14 months to protect our communities from COVID-19. These awards are proof that they’re doing a great job and that their programs and initiatives are having a major impact.”
Macomb County received awards for the following work:
- The Macomb County IT Department - Small Business Grant Applications
Macomb County Information Technology (IT), under the direction of the Planning and Economic Development (PED) department, implemented a process to automate delivery, signature and return of documents for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Small Business Grant recipients. - The Macomb County IT Department - Sheriff Scheduler Application
IT developed a web-based application to automate the monthly and daily scheduling process for the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. This project also entailed integrating each of the scheduling modules with one another utilizing a standard development platform. - The Macomb County IT Department - Mobile Workforce
When the COVID-19 pandemic caused nationwide lockdowns in 2020, Macomb County staff were ordered to work remotely to ensure both employee and public safety. In order to allow for this mobile workforce, the county initiated a project to replace over 1,000 desktops with laptops. - The Macomb County IT Department - COVID-19 Assessment and Tracing
Macomb County Information Technology, under the direction of the Office of the County Executive, implemented a process to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace by developing automated workflows using Google Forms and Google Apps Scripts to assess employee and visitor statuses before entering county facilities, and afterwards to investigate workplace exposures and contact tracing.
“Our IT department worked quickly and efficiently to create solutions and processes for workplace needs and community programs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jako van Blerk, chief information officer for Macomb County. “I am so impressed with the work of our teams. They exhibited ingenuity and flexibility in their response to requests and they delivered results for our county workforce and the county as whole.”
This is the 40th year that Macomb County has participated in the NACo Achievement Awards Program. In 2020, the county received five awards.
Started in 1970, NACo’s annual Achievement Awards program is designed to recognize county government innovations. Each nominee is judged on its own merits and not against other applications received.