By Commissioner Burt Aaronson
District 5
The county’s Public Affairs Department was recently presented with a Sunny Award from Sunshine Review for making government information easily available to citizens who visit the county’s website.
The website also received an A+ rating, placing Palm Beach County in the top 100 out of more than 6,000 government websites reviewed.
The Sunny Awards recognize government websites that exceed standards aimed at encouraging open government. If you have never visited our website, www.pbcgov.com, I urge you to. There is a tremendous amount of information about the county. You can view each county department’s information. You can link to numerous other websites. There is even a section named “I Want To” in which you can find a county phone number, look up property records and even get a train schedule.
The National Association of Counties (NACO) presented two awards to Palm Beach County during its Annual Conference and Exposition last month. The County received top ranking among all counties with populations of 500,000 or more. The ranking resulted from the annual Digital Counties Survey. The survey focuses on the results achieved through the use of technology, both in terms of operating efficiencies and realizing strategic objectives.
County staff has focused on building intelligent, paperless systems to automate and streamline key business processes. We maintain a strong Internet presence by offering numerous Web-based applications for accessing services and transacting business with county departments and agencies such as land development, emergency management, emergency dispatch, law enforcement data sharing, human services and planning zoning & building.
In addition, the county was recognized for its success in promoting the concept of an open access public network. We have interlocal agreements with municipalities, the Palm Beach County School District, Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach State College, the South Florida Water Management District and many other public sector agencies.
NACO’s second award to the County is most significant. It is an Achievement Award for its sweeping ethics reform measures. The Palm Beach County Ethics Initiative was recognized as an effective and innovative program promoting transparency in government.
As many of you know, a grand jury report was issued in 2009. As chair of the County Commission, I immediately began a focused and comprehensive effort to develop an ethics initiative aimed at restoring public trust. In less than a year, the grand jury’s recommendations were approved and implemented by the County Commission. We established an independent Commission on Ethics, an independent Office of Inspector General and a new county Code of Ethics.
In November 2010, 72 percent of the voters approved a referendum extending oversight to the employees and elected officials of each of the county’s 38 municipalities.
I am very pleased that the county has received such recognition. These awards prove that the County Commission and county staff work hard to provide that best service possible to the residents of Palm Beach County.
As always, I invite your comments on any issue of interest to you. As your Commissioner, I am here to help you. You may write me at 301 N. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, 33401 or call my staff at 276-1310 or toll free at 877-930-2205. My email address is: baaronso@pbcgov.org.