Santa Rosa, CA – The County of Sonoma is pleased to announce it has been named the national first place winner by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) for the innovative and collaborative digital response with the City of Santa Rosa to the October wildfires. The Digital Counties Survey Awards recognize counties for their technology policies and practices and only allocates ten winning spots for counties based on population. Sonoma County takes home top honors in the 500,000 to 999,999 population category.
“This national award illustrates the get-it-done spirit of collaboration that was crucial in the days, weeks and months after the devastating wildfires of October 2017 that enabled our community to quickly respond to and starting recovering from this unprecedented disaster,” said Board of Supervisors Chair James Gore. “Sonoma County’s information technology and digital services enhance our service delivery and provide a strong foundation to support county operations everyday. This technology foundation also positioned us to maintain services and adapt to a very high levels of demand during the fire response and ongoing recovery efforts.”
“Innovative counties are utilizing technology and data to better inform and protect themselves and their citizens, to save taxpayer money and to provide a better citizen experience,” said Teri Takai, executive director, CDG. “The Center for Digital Government congratulates this year’s winners for all the efforts they are making to improve the lives of their residents and others.”
During and after last fall’s wildfires, technology helped the County of Sonoma and City of Santa Rosa collaborate on co-branded online solutions to provide residents with comprehensive response and recovery information, access to services, requests for assistance, forms to authorize Fire Debris Removal, and damage assessment reports. The survey, conducted by the Center for Digital Government in partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo), identifies the best technology practices among U.S. counties, including initiatives that streamline delivery of government services, encourage open data, collaboration and shared services, enhance cybersecurity and contribute to disaster response and recovery efforts.