SACRAMENTO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/12/11 -- Palm Beach County, Florida; Washoe County, Nevada; Pueblo County, Colorado; and County of Nevada, California are all first place winners in the 2011 Digital Counties Survey which recognizes leading examples of counties using information and communications technology. e.Republic's Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities program, in partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo), identify best electronic practices among counties nationwide, regardless of size.

Digital Communities Director, Todd Sander, said, "Survey responses indicate counties are effectively economizing and finding innovative ways of using technology to meet the higher demand for services during this trying economic time. Counties are consolidating and sharing services to cut down on costs and leveraging technology like virtualization to capture critical savings. Congratulations to the winners!"

"The Digital Counties Survey identifies the very best examples of how counties are aligning technology to support strategic priorities and create crucial operational and administrative efficiencies," said NACo Executive Director Larry E. Naake. "Especially important during these tough economic times, counties across the country are using innovative technologies to reduce county operations costs and enhance service delivery."

This year's survey was underwritten by Hyland Software, developers of OnBase; Insight Public Sector, Inc.; Juniper Networks; McAfee; Quest Software, Inc.; and Sprint.

Congratulations to the 2011 Digital Counties Survey Winners:

500,000 or more population:

1st Palm Beach County, Fla.
2nd San Diego County, Calif.
3rd Montgomery County, Md.
4th Oakland County, Mich.
4th Tulsa County, Okla.
5th Fairfax County, Va.
5th Hennepin County, Minn.
6th Prince George's County, Md.
7th Orange County, Fla.
8th County of Orange, Calif.
8th Westchester County, N.Y.
9th Fulton County, Ga.
9th King County, Wash.
9th Los Angeles County, Calif.
10th Anne Arundel County, Md.
10th Bexar County, Texas

250-499,999 population:

1st Washoe County, Nev.
2nd Dakota County, Minn.
3rd Chesterfield County, Va.
4th Douglas County, Colo.
4th Washtenaw County, Mich.
5th Dutchess County, N.Y.
5th Horry County, S.C.
6th Loudoun County, Va.
7th Placer County, Calif.
8th Clackamas County, Ore.
9th Guilford County, N.C.
9th Howard County, Md.
9th Leon County, Fla.
10th Hamilton County, Ind.

150-249,999 population:

1st Pueblo County, Colo.
2nd Lackawanna County, Pa.
3rd Arlington County, Va.
4th Sussex County, N.J.
5th Yuma County, Ariz.
6th Gaston County, N.C.
7th Cumberland County, Pa.
8th Doña Ana County, N.M.
9th Boone County, Mo.
9th St. Tammany Parish, La.
10th Hall County, Ga.

Less than 150,000 population:

1st County of Nevada, Calif.
2nd County of Napa, Calif.
2nd Roanoke County, Va.
3rd Olmsted County, Minn.
4th Martin County, Fla.
5th County of Moore, N.C.
5th Pitkin County, Colo.
6th Charles County, Md.
7th Franklin County, Va.
7th Gloucester County, Va.
8th Columbia County, Ga.
9th County of Albemarle, Va.
10th Bay County, Mich.

The Center for Digital Government is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The Center is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event and research company focused on smart media for public sector innovation.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) 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 3,068 counties are heard and understood in the White House and Congress. http://www.naco.org