The Third Annual Michigan Digital Government Summit concluded on Thursday, October 13, having brought together more than 400 technology leaders from state and local government for a two-day conference. In the spirit of collaboration and teamwork, technology leaders from the state, county, city and township levels of government met to discuss the future role of technology in government and to share opportunities for partnership, all with the goal of improving government service to Michigan citizens through technology.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm attended the event to acknowledge and thank those at the conference for their contributions to Michigan’s current #1 ranking in the nation in digital government, as ranked by the Center for Digital Government in California. The Governor congratulated conference attendees on their commitment to collaboration, commenting on the importance of teamwork as we move Michigan forward through technology. First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern shared remarks on the second day of the conference, recognizing the group for their hard work and dedication and acknowledging the critical role information technology will play in moving Michigan toward economic recovery.

“This is the best Summit to date,” commented Teri Takai, Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology.  “There a lot of exciting things going on in government technology, things that continue to improve life for our citizens. I am particularly excited about those that received awards at the conference.”

This year’s Summit had a new twist, featuring the first-ever statewide Michigan Excellence in Technology Awards Program, established to salute Michigan's technology professionals and managers for outstanding achievement. Agency heads throughout the state submitted award nominations, with a formal Nomination Committee reviewing each submission and selecting a winner in each category.

Awards were presented as follows:

Demonstrated Leadership in Management of Information Technology
David Behen, Director of IT, Washtenaw County

Recognized for leading a dramatic restructuring of IT in Wastenaw County which included reducing IT staffing by 20%, improving customer sastifcation to above 90%, and delivering 95% ogf projects on time and on budget.

Contact: David Behen, behend@ewashtenaw.org  734-222-6512

cc: Andy Brush 734.222.6517 brusha@ewashtenaw.org

Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management
Aparna Agrawal, Technical Services, Michigan Department of Information Technology

Recognized for consolidating the state's GroupWise e-mail system reducing 330 servers statewide to just 70 servers.

Contact: Aparna Agrawal, AgrawalA@michigan.gov 

More Information: Dan Conlin, conlind@michigan.gov, 517 636 0577

Louis G. Burgess, Grants Coordination & Administration, Michigan Department of Education

Recognized for leading the MEGS system project which today supports more than 30 grant programs distributing more than $1 billion to Michigan organizations.

Contact: Louis Burgess (517) 335-3672 burgessl@michigan.gov

More information: Rick Floria, FloriaR@michigan.gov, 517-373-1967

Visionary Award
L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive 

Recognized for leading Oakland County into a time of unprecedented and robust economic growth, using technology as a primiary tool to the way Oakland County provides government services.

Contact: Brooks Patterson, 248-858-0484

More Information: Phil Bertolini 248-858-0815 bertolinip@co.oakland.mi.us

Frank Cambria, Washtenaw Deputy County Administrator

Recognized for championing the Washtenaw County's e-goverment initiatves, implementing technology befitting of world class public service.

Contact: Frank Cambria 734-222-6748 Cambriaf@ewashtenaw.org

More Information: Andy Brush 734.222.6517 brusha@ewashtenaw.org

Ms. Viji Murali, CIO, Western Michigan University

Recognized for instituting technology that brought Western Michigan University into the limelight as the first campus to go wireless in 2002.  Western Michigan University is ranked as the 8th "Most Unwired Campus" in the country.

Contact: Viji Murali 269.387.5456 viji.murali@wmich.edu

More Information: Kathy Beauregard 269.387.3067 yvonne.rumery@wmich.edu

Best Application Serving a Public Organization’s Business Needs
Electronic Fire Inspection, City of Portage

Recognized for their advanced technological system for the fire inspection process, capturing inspection information on handheld wireless devices.

Contact: Marianne Walkington, (269) 329-4537 walkingm@portagemi.com

e-Discharge Monitoring Reporting, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Recognized for electronic discharge monitoring reports of Michigan's wastewater facilities.

Contact: Michael Beaulac 517-241-7808 beaulacm@michigan.gov

Vital Records, Macomb County

Recognized for a new vital records system that allows for easier entry of information.

Contact: Jackie Bucca 586-469-6076 jackie.bucca@macombcountymi.gov

Best Application Serving the Public
PayLocalTaxes.com, Oakland County

Recognized for developing an online service enabling citizens of Oakland County to pay local property taxes via the web.

Contact: Phil Bertolini 248-858-0815 bertolinip@co.oakland.mi.us

Hot Spots Cool City, Grand Rapids

Recognized for bringing wireless broadband to the city of Grand Rapids.

Contact: Sally Wesorick 616-456-3094 swesoric@Ci.grand-rapids.mi.us

Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT), Michigan State Police

Recognized for creating a criminal history tool that allows the general public to view Michigan conviction online, and allowing employers to conduct pre-employment background checks.

Contact: Tim Bolles 517-322-5529 bollestd@michigan.gov

Best IT Collaboration Among Organizations

Federal Collaboration, Kent County, Grand Rapids and 18 others

(Award went to Kent County and Grand Rapids as representatives of the group)

Recognized for collaboration so that governments within West Michigan can share information with businesses, nonprofits, and educational institutions.

Contact: Paul Klimas 616-456-4205 pklimas@cci.grand-rapids.mi.us

Most Innovative Use of Technology

Paperless Board Meetings, Canton Township

Recognized for developing a paperless process for board meetings, eliminating thousands of pages of paper each meeting.

Contact: Anthony Minghine 734-394-5230 aminghein@canton-mi.org