The National Association of Counties (NACO) Achievement Awards Program is a non-competitive awards program which seeks to recognize innovative county government programs. Each year counties are asked to nominate the programs they feel represent innovation and accomplish one or more of the following:
- Offer new services to county residents, fill gaps in the availability of services, fill gaps in or tap new revenue sources.
- Improve the administration of an existing county government program.
- Upgrade the working conditions or level of training for county employees.
- Enhance the level of citizen participation in, or understanding of, government programs.
- Provide information that facilitates effective public policy making.
- Promote intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in addressing shared problems.
NACO announced May 1, 2017 that two programs nominated by Livingston County have been recognized for Achievement Awards:
- The H.E.R.O. Program (Heroin Education – Resisting Opiates) administered by the Sheriff’s Office was initiated in 2016 with the objective of educating high school aged youth about the dangers of heroin and opiate use. The goals of the program are to prevent young people from becoming involved with opiate based drugs, create a bond between students and law enforcement and a working relationship between law enforcement and the schools in Livingston County. The pilot program was initially offered to students at Dansville High School and used realistic demonstrations and true stories told by inmates, family members and recovering addicts in a school assembly format to educate high school seniors about the deadly nature of heroin and opiate use. Feedback from the pilot program was so positive that this year three different schools participated. In 2018, students from all Livingston County schools will be invited to attend.
- Livingston County Interoperable Emergency Communications Plan & Implementation used an efficient project management team to create a high-level strategy for a seamless and expandable interoperable emergency communications system. The strategy addressed the many issues that were having a negative impact on communications throughout the county and then focused on inter-county, multi-jurisdictional radio coverage and interoperable communications into adjoining counties. The new communications system addressed the need for additional frequencies as well as on-going communications with state, federal and regional partners on all frequency bands within the Finger Lakes Region.
“The Board of Supervisors is proud of this national recognition and we are pleased to note that, not coincidentally, both programs have been focus areas in our organizational and strategic plans”, stated County Administrator Ian Coyle. “Most importantly, the interoperable communications project and the H.E.R.O. program are public-safety oriented. Maintaining the community’s well-being, safety and health has been and always will be a priority for this Board.”
Livingston County Sheriff Tom Dougherty states, “I am very proud of both the HERO program, a recently created initiative to educate our youth on the lethal path of heroin and the ten plus million dollar radio project which brought our first responders a state of the art radio system without crushing our local taxpayers in costs. Great partnerships and teamwork create great accomplishments.”
These programs are now automatically entered into a competition by NACO called the Counties Matter Challenge: Brilliant Ideas at Work. This competition will identify 100 examples of visionary county leadership that resulted in improving residents’ quality of life. The challenge will begin to build an honor roll that highlights county innovation at its best. Through this initiative, NACO is working with county leaders, state associations, affiliates and other partners to share best practices. Winners of the Counties Matter Challenge will be announced the last week of May 2017.
