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Executive Update

August 2009

County Executive James T. Smith Jr.
400 Washington Avenue
Old Courthouse Mezzanine
Towson, Maryland 21204
410-887-2450
E-mail Address: jimsmith@baltimorecountymd.gov

Dear Friends of Baltimore County,                                            

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of recognizing the outstanding work of Baltimore County’s many talented departments and agencies and the eight impressive county programs that were honored with 2009 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards.

I have spent nearly my entire professional life in public service. As a Councilman, a Judge, and now as County Executive, I have seen firsthand how devoted and innovative public servants have enhanced the quality of life in all of Baltimore County’s neighborhoods.

2009 NACo Achievement Awards

President Woodrow Wilson once said that, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” These 2009 NACo Achievement Awards are a tribute to Baltimore County’s most outstanding public servants—the dedicated men and women, whose innovative contributions to our common good make this County a stronger and better place to live.

The employees who helped create our 2009 NACo Achievement Award winning programs are building a better Baltimore County. These award-winning programs enrich our communities because they have proven their effectiveness in Baltimore County, and now, as National Association of Counties 2009 Achievement Award winners, their information will be stored in a national database, to be used as models by local governments across the nation. 

For 74 years, the National Association of Counties has worked to ensure that the United States’ 3,066 counties have a voice in our nation’s capital. Their Achievement Award Program recognizes exemplary county government initiatives that expand the potential for county governments to meet their responsibilities to the citizens they serve.

Baltimore County’s award-winning programs emerge from the creative responses of a variety of different departments to important and diverse issues such as the Baltimore County Public Library’s Storyville, which promotes early childhood literacy through an interactive child sized landscape The Department of Aging received Achievement Awards for three different programs: the Courage to Move Forward initiative helps seniors cope with the challenges of loss; the Knowledge Management for Project Management program focuses on ensuring operational continuity by collecting and recording the knowledge of its many baby boomer employees who are preparing to retire; and the Five Wishes Program assists seniors in creating an advance directive document that addresses many of the questions surrounding end of life decisions.

Public Safety Programs Recognized

The Baltimore County Police Department also received Achievement Awards for three programs. The License Plate Reader Project is introducing Automated License Plate Readers into high auto theft and high crime areas; the Precinct 11 – Motor Vehicle Registration Violation Identification Program is improving the safety and quality of life of many of our neighborhoods by identifying and enforcing the large number of vehicle registrations violations in Precinct 11; and the Violent Crimes Unit, which is designed to investigate non-fatal shootings and serious assaults, as well as the enforcement of laws regarding firearms.

These programs are all very different, but all of these NACo award-winning programs are all outstanding examples of what good government is about. It is significant that Baltimore County has been honored for leadership in such a wide range of initiatives and responsibilities. I am proud to have so many dedicated and exceptional public servants working on so many effective programs for the people of Baltimore County. I congratulate them all on their award winning efforts, and thank them for all of their dedicated work.

Visit Our Web Tool

This is a web tool that will assist our citizens in getting the vital services that they need at the time they need them most. If you are in need of assistance in this economic recession, I urge you to visit “A Helping Hand in Hard Times”. 

Best wishes,

Jim Smith
Baltimore County Executive

Revised July 29, 2009