Montgomery County has been named America’s top digital county government in the United States by The Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo). Montgomery County received first place honors in the competition for jurisdictions with populations of 500,000 or greater.

“Being recognized as the top digital government in the nation is an honor, and it is a reflection of my commitment to making Montgomery County government more responsive and accessible to the people who live here,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett. “And, since ‘transparency in government’ is one of the benchmarks of my administration, I am especially pleased that the judges recognized Montgomery County’s transparency in publishing information and technology functionality benchmarks on our web portal.”

Thousands of counties from across the nation competed with Montgomery County for the top award by participating in the 2010 Digital Counties Survey. County officials responded to a series of questions that included more than 100 measurements and data points about online service delivery, infrastructure, architecture and governance models. This year, for the first time, counties had to submit numerous explanatory narratives on how technologies actually improved life for government employees, residents or both.

“The top digital county award reflects the transformation of Montgomery County’s approach from one of adapting and implementing new technology to a systemwide approach focusing on outcomes and benefits,” said Montgomery County Chief Information Officer E. Steve Emanuel. “Thanks to County Executive Leggett’s vision, our innovations this past year have served many purposes, were clearly visible to residents and achieved outcomes that solved multiple challenges. We are proud that this award recognizes our emphasis on enterprise solutions as the wave of the future for government entities.”

“The survey data we collected shows that counties of all sizes are rising to meet the current economic challenge,” said Todd Sander, director of the Center for Digital Government’s Digital Communities program. “They are finding impressive new ways to use information and communication technology to deliver affordable public service at the very time many people expect and need more from their government.”

“Across America, counties continue working to balance their local priorities with new responsibilities passed to them from federal and state governments,” said NACo Executive Director Larry E. Naake. “The Digital Counties Survey identifies the very best examples of how counties are aligning technology to support strategic priorities and create crucial operational and administrative efficiencies.”

The 2010 Digital Counties Survey is an annual study by the Center for Digital Technology and the National Association of Counties. The top digital counties were honored at a national awards ceremony which coincided with NACo’s national conference in July. The full list of 2010 winners can be viewed at www.Centerdigitalgov.com.