Press Release

Oakland County Ranked Most Digitally Advanced County in America

Pontiac, Michigan, July 29, 2009 -- Oakland County has been named the most digitally advanced county in America by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.

Oakland County was recognized for excellence in creating innovative, cost-effective, user-friendly services that deliver improved citizen access, greater efficiency and more “bang for the buck.”

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said, “This is truly an honor. I am very proud of my IT team. The honor of being ranked number one in the nation recognizes Oakland County’s use of technology to dramatically change the way local government does business. Many of our technology solutions are also shared with our local communities at little or no cost, helping them to better serve citizens.”

Oakland County Deputy County Executive and CIO Phil Bertolini said, “This recognition highlights Oakland County’s use of technology as the backbone of our government operations. Our main function is to provide services to the County citizens and our use of technology allows us to provide those services in the most efficient manner.”

Oakland took first place among counties with populations of 500,000 or more in the annual ranking of more than 3,000 U.S. county governments. All county governments in the nation were invited to participate in the Digital County Survey, an annual study focusing on the technology innovations of the best governments. Counties were ranked on more than 100 measurements and data points covering such areas as online delivery, infrastructure, architecture and governance models.

Find out more about Oakland County’s innovative eGovernment programs at www.oakgov.com.

For media inquiries, please contact Phil Bertolini, Deputy County Executive/CIO, at (248) 858-0815.