Wake County Commissioners will be receiving several awards this weekend at the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference and Exposition, July 16-20, in Maricopa County (Phoenix), Ariz. Wake County has been awarded three NACo Achievement Awards – for its Intergovernmental Coordination and Fiscal Resources programs in the Department of Environmental Services, and for its PRO-Familia program in the Department of Human Services.
"The national recognition just affirms the County’s commitment to quality," said Commissioners’ Chair Kenn Gardner. "We celebrate our successes as we continue to step up to the challenges we face as a county."
The Intergovernmental Coordination Program was created on a staff level to ensure the County’s Watershed Management Plan, Growth Management Strategy, Consolidated Open Space Plan, Comprehensive Groundwater Investigation, Transportation Plan and Air Quality Task Force activities were consistent with each other, were endorsed by the task forces that prepared them, and are implemented. The Fiscal Resources Program seeks alternative funding sources to implement the recommendations from these initiatives.
PRO-Familia, a program within Human Services’ Vocation Services Division, seeks to increase the ability of non-English-speaking Latinos to contribute to the financial support of their families through stable, unsubsidized employment that pays a decent wage. The program also provides support and links to other services to improve the well-being of all family members.
The main emphases of the NACo Achievement Awards, now in their 35th year, are to modernize and streamline county government and to increase its services to citizens. The awards give national recognition to county accomplishments and enable NACo to build a storehouse of county success stories that can be passed on to other counties. This year’s winners represent 27 states and 106 counties.
"As the recession has continued, we have seen counties working smarter and smarter," said Jacqueline Byers, NACo Director of Research. "Counties have taken a long hard look at more efficient ways to run their governments and still provide the programs, services and activities desired by their citizens."
The National Association of Counties is a full-service organization that provides legislative, research, technical and public affairs assistance to county governments. Created in 1935, NACo continues to ensure that the nation’s 3,066 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress.