Press Release

Oakland County Earns Prestigious National Award for Technological Achievement

Pontiac, Michigan (August 17, 2004) -- Chief Information Officers (CIO) Magazine, a national publication, has selected Oakland County as one of its 100 award recipients for 2004. Oakland County is the only county government organization in the nation to earn the award this year.

"The CIO award adds to Oakland County's growing reputation as a national powerhouse among local units of government in the development and implementation of 21st century technology to help citizens live better lives," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "I'm proud to say that Oakland County has become the standard by which all others are measured when it comes to technological achievement."

According to CIO Magazine this year's applicants for the award were judged on "how well they married information technology agility with enterprise agility in order to move quickly, adapt intelligently and create advantage in a rapidly changing world."

In awarding Oakland County its top prize, the CIO committee singled out the county's investment of $100 million in new technology which has eased the impact of budget cuts by making it possible to do more with less. In addition, Oakland County was recognized for its new web-based application that has helped individual units deliver improved services, more cost effectively and with more flexibility.

The committee also took note of Oakland County's e-Government initiative which has resulted in $750,000 worth of cost savings annually in printing, mailing and labor. Oakland County also received plaudits for using technology to improve its Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS). CLEMIS, which boasts more than 150 police and EMS agencies in five counties, has employed "live scan" fingerprint, OakVideo and web-enabled GIS technologies to make government more efficient and cost effective while making citizens safer.

"This award exemplifies the dedication and hard work of the staff here at Oakland County Information Technology," said Oakland County Director of Information Technology Phil Bertolini. "Our team has taken Brooks' technology vision and made it a reality."

The only other Michigan entities to receive the CIO 100 Award for 2004 are DaimlerChrysler in Auburn Hills, Delphi Corporation in Troy, General Motors in Detroit, Dow Chemical Company in Midland and Con-Way Transportation Services in Ann Arbor.

For media inquiries only, please contact Bob Dustman, Oakland County Media and Communications Officer, at 248-858-1048.