Cabarrus County ITS department earns top national honor

Published on September 21, 2022

Cabarrus County’s Information Technology Services (ITS) department has once again earned first place in the Center for Digital Government’s Overall County Government Experience Award.

The award recognizes the achievements and best practices of states, cities and counties that are “radically improving the experience of government services.”

For Cabarrus, a refreshed, constituent-focused website (cabarruscounty.us) was cited in the award documentation. With the site, “we took the time to think about the user experience … we prioritized things (residents) are coming to us for,” said Chief Information Officer Todd Shanley.

The redesign—through OpenCities—provides online engagement spaces, discussion boards and surveys that allow public involvement in County initiatives and provide feedback to officials on user experiences. The site also prioritizes calls to action which change throughout the year depending on the top services used by citizens. For instance, during election season, the site’s election content is prioritized.

The Cabarrus County ITS team “never stops innovating,” Shanley said in the award acceptance speech. “I’m lucky to have a board, a management team and an entire county staff that pushes us to be number one.

Cabarrus ITS officials accepted the award on Sept. 15 during the GovX Summit, an event that “showcases the latest trends, best practices and ideas around the evolving experience of government.”