2000 Awards

First Annual Geopatial Solutions Applications Contest winner was awarded to Pierce County Sheriff's Department and Information Services, GIS division for the 'Tracking Sex Offenders Online' system for being the most innovative, interesting and technologically appropriate. As the first place winner, Pierce County will recieve a Trimble GeoExplorer 3 GPS receiver and will be published in the August issue of Geospatial Solutions.

2000 Exemplary Systems in Government Award for Enterprise Systems by URISA (Urban & Regional Information Systems Association) was awarded to Pierce County for their Responder School Safety Planning System. The system is designed to enable public safety agencies to improve response to school disasters and emergencies. This award is highly prized in the local government business and will be presented to representatives of Pierce County Emergency Management and Information Services, GIS division on August 21 in Orlando, Florida.

2000 NACO (National Association of Counties) Achievement Awards:

Reducing Juror Mileage Costs with GIS data. Superior Court replaced its jury management software as part of Y2K preparations. Jurors receive a daily fee and mileage reimbursement equal to their round-trip from home to the courthouse. The former software calculated mileage based on the most distant point in the juror's zip code. While this system overstated mileage reimbursement, it required no staff data entry. Superior Court Administration worked with Information Services, GIS division to develop a more accurate mileage reimbursement process and reduce costs accordingly. The new software added functionality and a user-friendly interface. During the first six months of use, mileage costs went down 24 percent. Annual savings are projected at $83,000.
Internet Confirm/Strike Process - A new Internet application developed by Pierce County Information Services in conjunction with Pierce County Superior Court Administration allows authorized attorneys to confirm or strike civil proceedings on commissioners' calendars through a secured interface. Once an attorney is approved by the court and given a secure Personal Identification Number, he/she may confirm a proceeding at any time up to two days before the court or strike the proceeding up to midnight the day before the court date. This allows attorneys to do business with the court at their convenience on a 24X7 schedule, eliminating court business-hour limitations. Attorneys have the convenience of doing this in accordance with their own schedules. They can get immediate confirmation and verification that their confirm/strike request has been processed and accepted. They also can be confident that they are dealing with a secure web site.

MB Foster, a Canadian company that provides client server technology for the HP3000, awarded the 2000 grand prize for their 'Webify Your HP3K Contest' to Pierce County Information Services. The contest required a clear demonstration of excellence in developing a web-based application using MB Foster technology and was open to an international audience through the Internet. Pierce County Information Services Team submitted their Planning and Land Services (PALS) online permit information site as its entry. As the grand prize winner, Pierce County will receive $10,000 in prizes, including $5000 cash award and a trophy.