Area counties honored for innovative service - News

Area counties honored for innovative service

Chesterfield, Henrico get majority of Va. awards at national conference

Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 - 12:10 AM

Article Tools
Email a Friend Reader Reaction RSS digg it	Printer Friendly Mobile Alerts Sphere IT Save This Page

By WESLEY P. HESTER AND MELODIE N. MARTIN

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

• List of Winners

Chesterfield and Henrico counties fared well at this year's National Association of Counties conference, bringing home a collective 28 achievement awards. The annual conference concluded Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Henrico earned 18 awards and Chesterfield earned 10 in the program that presented 48 awards to localities across Virginia.

Other counties earning awards include Augusta, Fairfax, Hanover, Isle of Wight, Loudoun, Prince William and York.

NACo represents more than 2,340 of the 3,068 counties across the United States. In Virginia, 91 of the state's 95 counties are members, as is the city of Richmond.

Founded in 1970, the annual achievement awards is a non-competitive program that recognizes innovative county government efforts.

"These NACo awards recognize county programs and services that are delivering exemplary value to our residents," Chesterfield County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier said. "The awards demonstrate that Chesterfield County is setting an example for other local governments to emulate."

Among Chesterfield's awards:

Business First -- Greater Richmond: Led by Karen Aylward with Chesterfield Economic Development, the locally led initiative in partnership with other Richmond-area communities seeks to use new technology to collect information and identify strategies to improve the local business climate.

America's 400th Anniversary Community Commemoration: Public affairs and parks and recreation for the year-long civic education and information campaign highlighting county parks, museums and history in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of Jamestown.

ISO Public Protection Classification Program: The effort, led by Chesterfield Fire and EMS battalion chief Stuart Dalton, improved the county's Insurance Service Office public protection rating and put the department in the top 13 percent of participating departments nationwide. It could result in up to $2 million in savings for homeowners on fire insurance premiums through providers.

Among Henrico's awards:

Cemetery Identification Project: The Division of Recreation and Parks and the Henrico Historical Society located and cataloged cemeteries in the county, developed a database and published the information in a book, "Henrico County Cemeteries."

Enterprise Zone: Vacant Building and Land Inventory: Conducted by the Department of Community Revitalization, the inventory identifies and catalogs vacant properties in the county's enterprise zones and helps market the properties to developers and businesses.

Mental Health Support Services Volunteer Committee: Henrico Area Mental Health and Retardation Services helps clients with mental illness integrate in the community by providing opportunities to volunteer and complete community-service projects.

Barry Lawrence, clerk of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, said the awards are noteworthy achievements in which county leaders, staff and residents can take great pride.

"They represent considerable effort and ingenuity by our county government agencies and clearly indicate why Henrico is one of the best-run counties in the nation," Lawrence said.

Hanover County earned a NACo award for its post-disaster debris management plan, now used as a model by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Henrico also won 11 awards from the National Association of County Information Officers at the convention, and Chesterfield won six. Those awards recognize noteworthy communications efforts, publications or other products.
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Melodie N. Martin at (804) 649-6290 or mmartin@timesdispatch.com.

Reader Reaction:

Reaction Page: