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N O R T H C A R O L I N A ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FOR IlVIlVIEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Todd McGee, (919) 715-7336 April 15, 2008 todd.mc~ee(a~ncacc.or~ Orange County programs win statewide award Orange County has won two statewide awards from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. The Orange County Inspect Plus program and the Orange County Spanish Language Assessment Tool were two of 12 county programs from around the state to win a 2007 Outstanding County Program Award from the NCACC. The Inspect Plus program is an in-house developed software program. In November, the program enabled Orange County building inspectors to go paperless in the field, reducing by more than 1,000 the sheets of paper used each week for inspections requests and documentation. The program enables inspectors to spend more time in the field each day by eliminating the need for return trips to the office to enter data and print reports. Inspectors now process inspections results in the field on laptops. The laptops are docked in the inspector's vehicle and also provide electronic maps to properties using the county's GIS. The laptops also are installed with all of the N.C. State Building, Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical codes. An inspector can attach the relevant code to the inspection if further explanation is needed. With a growing Hispanic population, Orange County leaders recognized several years ago that the county needed a way to assess the abilities of its employees and volunteers to speak, write and translate Spanish. Working with the Chapel Hill Institute of Cultural and Language Education (CHICLE), the county developed a Spanish Proficiency Assessment Tool. The purpose of the assessment tool is to further accessibility to all county services for Spanish-speaking residents by helping assure that County employees have sufficient knowledge of the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking community to communicate effectively. In the first year of the program, 36 county employees volunteered to go through the assessment. The intent of the Outstanding County Program Awards is to recognize and share information with other counties about programs that involve a uniquely innovative process, solution or idea to address a county . or multi jurisdictional issue and/or to prevent a future problem from developing. More than 50 programs in three categories -Public Information/Participation, General Government and Human Services -were nominated for the 2007 awards. These programs were two of five General Government winners. "Counties in North Carolina are facing many challenges, and this awards program is a great way to highlight some of the outstanding work being done by our counties," said. NCACC Executive Director David F. Thompson: "As the demands being placed on county governments become more complex, counties are forced to fmd new solutions to old problems. This awards program is a way to bring attention to excellent programs that other counties might want to emulate." For more information, contact Orange County Manager Laura Blackmon at (919) 245-2306. For more information on the Outstanding County Program Awards, contact Todd McGee, NCACC Communications Director, at (919) 715-7336 or todd.mcgee(a,ncacc.org. ### The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly, Congress and federal and state agencies. The Association provides expertise to counties in the areas of lobbying, fiscal and legal research, communications, intergovernmental relations, information technology, field visits and risk management services. P.O. Box 1488, Raleigh, NC 27602-1488 * Phone: (919) 715-2893 * Fax: (919) 733-1065 * www.ncacc.org