Two counties in the lower Hudson Valley, Westchester and Dutchess, have been ranked among the top counties in the U.S this year for their use of digital technology to improve government services and efficiency.
Westchester County for the ninth year ranked in the top 10 of counties nationwide in the annual Digital Counties Survey by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties. Westchester tied for 10th place this year with King County, Wash., which encompasses the metropolitan Seattle area, for counties with 500,000 or more residents.
Dutchess County ranked second in the 14th annual digital survey for counties with populations between 250,000 and 500,000.
San Francisco County in California ranked first among the nation”™s largest counties. Oregon”™s Clackamas County topped Dutchess among midsized counties.
Tompkins County, which includes the city of Ithaca within its borders, was the only other county in New York ranked in the survey.
“Leveraging technology is one way the county stays responsive to the needs of residents and can keep costs down,” Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said in a press release announcing the county”™s award. He thanked John McCaffrey, commissioner of the county information technology department, for his leadership and the county”™s IT staff “for their innovation and hard work.”
McCaffrey in the announcement said the award “reflects the tremendous vision of all county departments working in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology.”
