41.4 F
Wrightsville Beach
Friday, March 29, 2024

NHC wins highest number of achievement awards in state

Must read

At a national conference in California, two New Hanover County commissioners and the county manager said they reviewed technological solutions that could help encourage more low-impact, environmentally friendly development, and also accepted awards on behalf of the county staff.

During the National Association of Counties annual conference in Long Beach, California, July 22-25, commissioners Beth Dawson and Rob Zapple and county manager Chris Coudriet said they attended work sessions with other county management and leaders from across the nation on issues relevant to New Hanover County, including economic development, environmental management, crime and healthcare delivery.

This included sessions on low-impact development that Coudriet said could help the county plan in an environmentally sensitive manner. He also attended a work session on how county management can be responsive and predictive to flooding.

The sessions are part of what Coudriet said was the county’s mission to be a national leader in governance policy and best practices, which the national organization recognized by awarding several New Hanover County programs for achievement in government.

The programs winning achievement awards from the association spanned a range of government services, from criminal justice to information technology management to public library services. County project winners included the program to manage Carolina Beach Inlet, the fire department’s program for fire alarms for the deaf and the library’s story station. The county won awards for 10 of the 13 programs it submitted for review by the national association.

“We earned the highest number of achievement awards in the state of North Carolina,” Coudriet said. “The fact that we’re at the head of the class is a testament to the people leading these programs.”

Zapple said the conference offered commissioners and Coudriet exposure to the latest technological trends that can help the county manage a variety of issues.

The county is recognized as a leader in protection for beaches, marshes and waterways, he said, and technology presented at the conference could be useful for the county to maintain environmental management.

“The use of technology was an overriding theme at the convention,” Zapple said. “These tools can help us identify where our green infrastructure is weak and strong.”

Coudriet said the technology solutions demonstrated at the conference could be helpful as the staff prepares to rewrite county development and zoning ordinances to conform with the new land use plan adopted July 11 by the board of commissioners.

“There’s going to be a federal push to encourage low-impact development,” Coudriet said. “Form a policy perspective, this can help encourage the right kind of development.”

The county officials said they attended sessions on several issues important to the county, including reducing prison populations and delivering healthcare through telemedicine service. Also of importance was a session on reducing opioid abuse, as Wilmington was recently identified as a city with one of the highest rates of abuse in the country, as documented in a report by Castlight Health, Inc.

New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chair Beth Dawson said that other counties were adopting the Stepping Up Initiative, a program that New Hanover County had already adopted to reduce jail population in favor of mental health service.

“It’s good to know that New Hanover County, at the national level, is ahead of a lot of other counties across the country,” she said.

Email [email protected]

- Advertisement -spot_img

More articles

- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest articles