July 30, 2009

Loudoun Again Tops National List of Digital County Governments

Loudoun County has again been recognized as one of the most technologically advanced county governments in the United States. For the second consecutive year, Loudoun received the number one ranking in its population category in a national survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties.

The 2009 Digital Counties Survey found that Loudoun uses information technology in increasingly innovative ways to deliver service to the county’s residents. The center’s Executive Director, Cathilea Robinett, said, “Despite challenging economic circumstances, America’s counties are continuing to use new tools such as social media to engage and encourage citizen participation and feedback. Additionally, counties are moving forward in very responsible ways by green and sustainability efforts, energy efficiency monitoring, e-waste recycling and government transparency.”
 
Loudoun County provides many services through its website, www.loudoun.gov. Some of the website’s newer features include an online evacuation assistance registry coordinated by the Office of Emergency Management, an online form for businesses to register with the Commissioner of the Revenue, crime and traffic reports from the Sheriff’s Office, and an online application allowing property owners to request a real estate assessment review from the Office of the Assessor.

Other popular offerings on the website are the database of land parcels, Board of Supervisors meeting packets, photos of animals available for adoption at the Animal Shelter, the online library catalog and online tax payments. The website also offers RSS feeds of headlines and news releases as well as webcasts of Board of Supervisors meetings and other programming that appears on Comcast Government Channel 23, Verizon FiOS Channel 40, and Open Band Channel 18.

Another web-based service is the Alert Loudoun system, which allows residents to receive e-mails or text messages over their cellular phones or pagers. Subscribers can receive alerts in various categories, such as road closures, safety information, news releases, sports cancellations, emergency situations, and tax deadline information.

Currently, nearly 4 million users visit the Loudoun County website annually, viewing more than 28 million pages.

More information about the survey and the Center for Digital Government is available online at www.centerdigitalgov.com.

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Contact: Jim Barnes, 703-771-5086