The National Association of Counties (NACo) is celebrating National County Government Month (NCGM), which highlights some of the ways individual counties are making their areas a great place to live. The recognition event first started in 1991, and has served as an opportunity for citizens to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the counties they live in. Many counties use this month as an opportunity to invite residents into their offices or work with the media to form a connection with constituents and keep them better informed.
The theme of this year’s NCGM is “Counties RISE!” with RISE being an acronym for resiliency, inclusion, solvency, and empowerment. The event is a celebration of the more than 3,000 counties that make up the country and the many ways they serve their residents.
County governments tend to be responsible for more things than the general public may be aware of, so NACo also uses this event to solicit information on what different counties have accomplished. Some of the items highlighted by NACo are that counties:
Build and maintain 45 percent of all public roads and 38 percent of bridges
Own and operate over 900 hospitals, 750 behavioral health centers and more than 1,900 local public health departments
Invest over $100 billion annually in public safety and court-related responsibilities
Support County Veteran Services Officers in 29 states and the District of Columbia
Provide critical services related to federal public lands in 62 percent of all counties
Deliver extensive administrative services, including issuing birth certificates and marriage licenses and elections, and
Build and maintain parks, community centers, libraries and cultural centers.
Over the years, Extract has worked with more than 500 counties in the US and we’ve seen the investments they’ve been making that aren’t always well publicized. We see counties continuing to turn centuries-old records into accessible digital media, exciting new ways of using geographical data, and commitments to keeping constituent personally identifiable information safe when they use products like our automated redaction software ID Shield. To date, we’ve processed more than five billion images without any of the placed redactions being compromised.
The counties we serve are responsible for records that date back hundreds of years and have to be adaptable to always-changing legislation. Some of the counties we’ve worked with didn’t have a choice in getting their records redacted and made available online just as many of our customers are now required to implement restrictive covenant modification programs. These changes aren’t usually just day-forward projects either, as counties often have to re-scour their records to apply new laws.
If you have a project like this, we’d encourage you to reach out. No matter what you’re doing as a county official though, we support you in your mission. To learn more about National County Government Month, click here.
About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.