MACo's County Innovation Award recognizes first-class and cutting-edge county projects that can improve the overall quality of life and service provision of county residents.
His Excellency Ingrid Turner, Deputy Judge of the Prince George County Circuit Court, former Chairman of MACo and former member of the Prince George County Council, established the award during his presidency of MACo in 2012. The award is now jointly awarded by the Institute of Local Governance Excellence and MACo, with the support of the local government insurance trust fund.
The County Innovation Award is awarded to an urban county and a rural county every year. All the nominees are impressive. They solved the problems in the community and met the needs of the residents in a truly "breaking routine" way. If you want to learn more about each nomination program, please provide contact information below.
MACo and the Academy of Local Governance Excellence are pleased to announce our two winners and share information about all nominees, as listed below. The winners will be invited to discuss their plans during the 2021 MACo Winter Conference.
Rural-Commercial Information Center of Cecil County Public Library
Our county library system's award-winning Business Information Center (BIC) uses information expertise and access to help Cecil's existing and aspiring small business owners, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations throughout the life cycle of their businesses- From making a business plan to obtaining financing, recruiting employees and marketing. During the pandemic, the library’s BIC has always been an important community connector. When companies struggle to survive, our commercial librarians have been there from the beginning to help them not only obtain financial support, information, and other economic development partners, but also switch to new business models.
Nominator: Al Miller, member of Cecil County District 3 Committee (agmiller@ccgov.org)
City-COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Plan
Employ Prince George's launched the COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Plan in April 2020 to help businesses with declining incomes and residents who have been laid off due to Covid-19. With local Prince George County government funds, municipal grants, foundation/corporate grants, and state grants, the COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program raised more than $1.5 million in FY20 and FY21. With these funds, the COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program distributed US$200 and US$300 visa cash cards (total assistance of US$709,300) to 5,677 Prince George County residents, and provided grants of US$548,336 to 29 businesses. And helped to train more than 150 residents and make them employed.
Nominee: Walter Simmons, President and Chief Executive Officer, hires Prince George's County, Prince George's County (wsimmons@co.pg.md.us)
Carroll County Housing and Community Relations Bureau Emergency Rental Assistance Program
Carroll County's Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) began in May 2021 to help residents at risk respond to the county's eviction prevention procedures. The program helps tenants stay at home, while also funding landlords when the federal and state moratoriums on eviction ends. To date, the county has used federal EAP funds to provide more than $1.9 million to help more than 220 families pay rent arrears. From the beginning, the program established an innovative partnership with the District Court and the Sheriff’s Department, preventing 38 evictions that would otherwise be handled.
Nominator: Celene Steckel, Director of Carroll County Citizen Services Department (csteckel@carrollcountymd.gov)
Cecil County COMPASS (Cecile On-Demand Mobile Platform and Service Solutions) Program
Cecil Transit’s COMPASS program addresses Cecil County’s growing need for addiction support by removing traffic barriers in the rehabilitation community. By expanding the mobile on-demand service model for drug abuse rehabilitation centers, the program provides more treatment and rehabilitation services, as well as more timely employment options. After participating in the program, individuals can arrange their own itinerary through a smartphone application. This transformative project provides traffic control, maximizes carpooling opportunities, and enables recovering individuals to obtain employment, medical care, treatment, support, and other necessary social services to maintain contact with the community.
Nominator: David Trolio, Director of Cecil County Community Services Department (dtrolio@ccgov.org)
Charles County Government Equity Program
Charles County is probably the most diverse jurisdiction in Maryland, and it is also one of only three major political divisions (the other two are Baltimore City and Prince George County), and are either ethnic minorities or African American Majority. With the increasing attention of governments at all levels and the increasing public demand signals, the fairness of the services provided and their delivery methods is of paramount importance. The Charles County Whole of Government Equity Program ensures that all employees and citizens are included, heard, valued, and provided with the same opportunities.
Nominator: Jesse Bungcayao, Administrative Assistant to the Mayor of Charles County (bungcayj@charlescountymd.gov)
Charles County COVID-19 Recovery Task Force
The Charles County COVID-19 Recovery Task Force was established to determine the impact of the COVID crisis on the local economy, businesses, and non-profit organizations, and to respond with short- and long-term solutions to reduce losses, retain employers and employees, and maximize To reduce losses to the local economy. The working group brings together business operators who can meet their specific industry and private sector needs, and public sector representatives who have regulatory authority and access to resources to meet these needs. The group meets online every week and is chaired by a retired judge.
Nominator: Marcia Keeth, Deputy Director, Charles County Economic Development Department (KeethM@MeetCharlesCounty.com)
Several of our communities have been greatly affected by COVID. In St. Mary's County, Maryland, COVID has reduced the number of emergency medical services normally provided by our volunteer first responders. As a result, this caused a delay in response to critical life-saving events. Historically, EMS services in St. Mary's County consisted mainly of volunteer EMS services. In response, in September 2020, our Emergency Services Department asked the St. Mary County Commissioner to provide funds to provide paid EMS services to our citizens. The commissioner approved this request, and the Emergency Services Department continued to advance the development of a professional EMS plan to successfully provide our community with effective emergency medical services.
Nominator: Stephen Walker, Director of Emergency Services, St. Mary's County (stephen.walker@stmarysmd.com)
Recognizing the need to reduce congestion and provide simple, efficient, and reliable transportation to the people of Baltimore County, County Mayor John Olszewski established the Loop, Baltimore County's first local public transportation system. The Loop connects students, commuters, and tourists throughout the Towson Central Business District, and plans to expand the scope of services to make it accessible to everyone in Baltimore County. Currently, buses can be used at any location every 15 to 20 minutes and will be open on Saturdays. The fleet consists of 12 circulating shuttle buses, each equipped with bicycle racks, air conditioning, wheelchair and stroller space, and a total of 25 seats.
Nominator: Joshua Greenberg, Baltimore County Legislation and Policy Liaison (jgreenberg@baltimorecountymd.gov)
Targeted strategic eviction prevention (STEP) plan
In October 2020, Baltimore County and the United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM) launched an innovative eviction prevention program: the Strategic Targeted Eviction Prevention (STEP) program. STEP uses geographic COVID-19 cases and economic vulnerability data to focus its assistance on families most affected by the pandemic, including families with elderly people and minor children. STEP provides direct "bundled" payments to large landlords on behalf of tenants to ensure that county residents keep their houses. To date, the program has provided $13 million in state and local federal funding to avoid the deportation of nearly 1,800 families in the county.
Nominator: Joshua Greenberg, Baltimore County Legislation and Policy Liaison (jgreenberg@baltimorecountymd.gov)
Harford County Wheelchair Apparel Workshop
Dressing up and spending the night with friends and neighbors is a popular Halloween tradition. Unfortunately, for children in wheelchairs, dressing up and tricking around can be a challenge. Traditional clothing is usually not suitable for children in wheelchairs, and the inconvenient transportation in the community makes many disabled children can only stay at home. Recognizing that more than 500 young people with physical disabilities are sometimes inadvertently excluded from community activities, especially Halloween, the Harford County Government launched the region's first wheelchair costume seminar in October 2019. The second annual seminar returns in October 2021. During the two-day event, hundreds of volunteers designed and made unique clothing suitable for children’s wheelchairs. The event ended with an inclusive "Trick or Treat", so that all children can play with their peers and enjoy Halloween!
Nominator: Amber Shrodes, Harford County Community Services Director (ashrodes@harfordcountymd.gov)
Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton Medal of Honor Playground
Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton is an African-American Federal Army soldier from the Harford County community in Gravel Hill. Because of his performance in the Battle of Chaffin Farm, he is the only person Harford has received the United States' highest military medal of honor. A park was named after him in 2002, but the county hopes to provide more education in an interactive way. In January 2021, a theme park with the sergeant as its theme. Hilton’s story is equipped with climbing, sliding and jumping equipment—and it promotes this hometown hero to children in the community.
Nominator: Cynthia Mumby, Harford County Government and Community Relations Director (camumby@harfordcountymd.gov)
Harford County NEXT GEN Respondent Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program
In order to recruit and retain life-saving volunteers, Harford County provides up to $5,000 per year for a period of four years to help volunteer firefighting and EMS providers repay student loans. Harford County's fire service is entirely dependent on volunteers, and operates a combination of volunteers and paid EMS providers in 12 voluntary fire companies across the county. As it became more and more difficult to attract volunteers, County Administrator Barry Glassman (formerly EMT and Level Volunteer Fire Company) created the program to enhance public safety. It is considered the first in Maryland.
Nominator: Cynthia Mumby, Harford County Government and Community Relations Director (camumby@harfordcountymd.gov)
LEAP4MCG-Take advantage of Montgomery County Government’s employability program
The Montgomery County Government’s LEAP4MCG (Use Employability Program) is a new collaborative recruitment program between the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The plan aims to solve the problem of insufficient number of people with disabilities in the workplace by providing a limited number of county-level posts that are eligible for welfare for two years and can only be filled by people with severe disabilities. LEAP4MCG provides employment opportunities to develop and/or enhance skills and experience, with the goal of obtaining employment in the participating counties or communities after large-scale projects.
Nominator: Samuel Frushour, Special Assistant to the Director of the Montgomery County Human Resources Office (samuel.frushour@montgomerycountymd.gov)
In May 2021, the Organization of American States launched a safety net program to provide fostering opportunities for their own pets when their owners are temporarily unable to take care of their pets due to illness, homelessness, financial stress, or other emergencies. Once they are able to take care of them, the owner will reunite with their pets. The program provides pet owners who cannot take care of their pets with opportunities to overcome numerous difficulties. At the same time, their pets are taken care of for free by volunteers in the shelter until they can take up this responsibility. Prior to this, homelessness and other difficulties caused by evictions and other emergencies caused pet owners to abandon their beloved pets.
Nominator: Thomas Koenig, Montgomery County Executive Director (thomas.koenig@montgomerycountymd.gov)
Montgomery Energy Connection is a county program created by a combined Pepco-Exelon fund to provide residents with customized education on energy efficiency, program availability, and assistance opportunities. Although the program is managed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the network includes more than 60 partners, including county departments/institutions, municipalities, non-profit organizations, and businesses. To date, the program has established contacts with more than 51,000 county residents. The plan aims to educate residents of all ages, income levels, and housing types in the county on how to reduce utility costs and keep money in their pockets.
Nominated by: Larissa Johnson, Montgomery County Environmental Protection Department Residential Energy Project Level 2 Manager (larissa.johnson@montgomerycountymd.gov)
The 2021 MACo Winter Conference "Restart Time: Today's Technology" will be held from December 8-10, 2021 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Maryland.
Learn more about the MACo Winter Conference:
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