When a group of Cook County residents began looking into the possible benefits of broadband connectivity a decade ago, one of those benefits was creating a stronger, more efficient and more positive bond between government and governed via a concept called “E-government.” Well, it took a long time, a great deal of work by a dedicated information technology (IT) crew, and considerable investment of county funds, but the era of E-government has arrived with a bang in Cook County.
If you haven’t looked lately at the Cook County website (co. cook.mn.us), please take a gander. I guarantee you will be mightily impressed. It is almost certainly the best Minnesota county website for such a small, sparsely populated county—and very probably one of the best in the nation.
Just look at the long list of things you can do online under the “E-Services” tab: pay your taxes; check meeting agenda; apply for SNAP; buy a plat book; contact the county prosecutor; pay lodging taxes, and many more.
And please check out the sophisticated mAPP.
This is beyond impressive. It is revolutionary and world class. And it happened because a (very) small band of county IT whizzes, led by IT director and chief whiz Rena Rogers, dedicated themselves to long hours of work and brain-stretching creative effort. Key, too, was the support they got from the county board. Everyone involved deserves our thanks and our sustained applause for providing government services of the very highest quality.
Jim Boyd
Executive Director
Cook County Chamber of Commerce
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