Awards

Pierce County IT has received numerous awards and national grants for technological innovation and excellence. 
 2017 Awards
Pierce County wins 2017 NACo Award for innovation
2017 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award: County Administration and Management
Pierce County won a NACo Award for using biometric time clocks to streamline elections. During the 2016 Presidential Election,the county needed a secure and more efficient way to check in hundreds of temporary election workers. Biometric clocks allow extra hires to quickly check in using any finger, thereby saving Pierce County more than $10,000 a year. 

2017 NACo Achievement Award: Information Technology
The IT Division won a second award for successfully upgrading over 3,200 PCs and 1,000 mobile devices to Office 365, as well as migrating 4,500 email accounts to Outlook and a new email archiving system. Pierce County IT was recognized in the industry for a near perfect email archive data migration. 
 2016 Awards
2016 Apex Award
2016 Apex Award of Excellence: Digital Media Category
The Puget Sound Fresh App won an Apex Award for graphic design and overall communications excellence. The Apex Awards is an international competition that recognizes exceptional work in digital and print media. Pierce County partnered with neighboring agencies, the University of Washington Tacoma and Seattle Tilth to create the app. 
WA URISA Person of the Year Award
2016 WAURISA GIS Person of the Year Award
Pierce County’s Chuck Buzzard was named “GIS Person of the Year” for his expertise and countless hours of volunteering.During his 20+ year career, Chuck has volunteered for critical leadership roles, including serving as WAURISA President, Conference Chair, and past Board member. 
IT Wins Two Standing Ovation Awards
2016 Employee Incentive and Recognition Standing Ovation Awards 
Staff from IT, the Auditor, and Budget and Finance won an Innovation Award for designing a Biometric Time Clock. The system allows Elections extra hires to quickly clock in using any finger, thereby saving Pierce County more than $10,000 a year. Award video

Additionally, an IT, Auditor, and Assessor team won a Partnership Award for linking recorded documents with parcels in the Public GIS system. This project provides greater access to 15 commonly used recorded documents, including deeds of trust, surveys, liens and easements. Award Video
 2015 Awards
2015 3CMA Savvy Winner
2015 3CMA Savvy Award for Digital Interactive: Mobile Apps
The Puget Sound Fresh App won the first-place Savvy Award for best new mobile app. Pierce County partnered with neighboring agencies, the University of Washington Tacoma and Cascade Harvest Coalition to create the app. Both Android and Apple users can use the app to find more than 350 farms and farmers markets, as well as recipes, harvest calendars and events. 
2015 URISA Award
2015 URISA Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Award
Pierce County won the top URISA award for creating the most advanced permitting system in the nation. Online permitting tools reduced the number of customer phone calls and office visits by 20%, while also reducing the average consultation time by nearly 80%. Meanwhile, the mobile permitting app allows inspectors to access inspection requests, plans and permit data on their iPads. 
2015 Digital County Survey Winner
2015 Digital County Survey Top 10 Digital Leader
Pierce County made the list of Top Ten Digital Leaders among large counties (500,000 or more population). The county was recognized for the Farm Fresh website, self-service tools for District Court, mobile permitting, the Child Abduction Rapid Response system, and the FirstToSee emergency support system. The annual survey recognizes leading examples of counties using technology to improve services and boost efficiencies. 
2015 NACo Award Winner
2015 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award: Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Pierce County Emergency Management and Information Technology won an Award for the Child Abduction Lead Management System. Investigators can use the system to quickly search and organize thousands of tips about a child’s possible location. The system has been used to rescue several children in the past year. 

2015 NACo Achievement Award for Planning
Pierce County Planning and Land Services (PALS) and Information Technology received an award for the Mobile Permitting System. The system allows inspectors to access inspection requests, building plans and permit data on their iPads. Customers can receive either electronic or printed copies of their inspections and request a re-inspection for the same or next day. Mobile permitting allows department to conduct up to 70 more inspections a week – or 3,500 more per year! 
2015 Employee Incentive and Recognition Standing Ovation Awards 
Pierce County Sheriff, Emergency Management, and IT received the Partners in Service award for the Child Abduction Response Team (CART) program. The Pierce County CART team worked together for nearly 5 years to obtain federal certification. These efforts ensured that Pierce County is now one of only 21 certified agencies in the nation.