Monday, July 16, 2001
Government Web sites honored
By Sarah Buehrle
Enquirer Contributor
In the run for the technology roses between the states, it's California and Kentucky neck and neck at the stretch. Each of the two states took five awards — the most given to any state — in a national contest recognizing excellence in government's use of technology.
The national contest started one year ago to recognize technology that improved government or made it more accessible. In 2001, 23 states were honored, with Kentucky and California tied for the states with the most awards, five. Ohio picked up four, and Indiana garnered one.
One of Kentucky's awards was shared with Ohio — the award for the ARTIMIS traffic system Tristate travelers swear by. The collaborative traffic information Web site - http://www.artimis.org/ - run by the Ohio Department of Transportation and ODOT's Kentucky counterpart was one of four Buckeye State Web sites honored by Civic.com.
Travelers to the Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati area can call ARTIMI511, to check on driving conditions. The program uses sensory data such as video cameras on 88 miles of freeway to gather traffic information. The information is passed to a control center, where a voice message for callers is updated every 20 minutes.
No one in Kentucky government was surprised the state was tied with California, which is known for its open government information and its technology prowess. Kentucky planned it that way.
“When businesses across the nation learn that Kentucky state government is embracing technology, it only increases the chances that they might consider Kentucky as a place to do business,” said Stephen Dooley, deputy chief information officer for the Kentucky Governor's Office for Technology.
Civic.com honored Kentucky for the following projects: ARTIMIS, IFTA Internet tax filing, a school Internet caching system, KyCARES.net and the Student Technology Leadership Program. The International Fuel Tax Agreement Internet tax filing system allows U.S. and Canadian motor carriers to file fuel and highway taxes over the Internet.
According to a University of Kentucky study, drivers used to fill out up to 12 forms when filing, which could discourage tax compliance. With IFTA, drivers can keep track of data electronically, reduce errors, and save companies and the government money. Kentucky's education system, which has been dramatically changed since the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act, won two awards.
“We've totally revamped the educational system,” said Lisa York Gross of the Kentucky Department of Education. “We've tried to change the way schools deal with learning.” One award is for the Internet Caching System, which allows Kentucky teachers and students to download information from the Internet and store it in a local electronic library. This cuts down on wait time and ensures that the materials will be available for class.
Kentucky's second educational award is for the Student Technology Leadership Program. The program places students as school computer consultants. STLP members offer free computer classes to teachers and the community, design Web pages and more. According to Civic.com, the program saves each Kentucky school district $210,000 per year in technology consultant fees.
Finally, Civic.com recognized Kentucky for its KyCARES program, which gives citizens direct access to 25,000 social service providers. Users can access confidentiallyinformation about services or do a prescreening for their service eligibility. More than 13,000 people visited KyCARES in June 2001.
In addition to the nod for ARTIMIS, Ohio took awards for its Interactive Local Report Card, which allows parents, teachers and administrators to get up-to-date performance data on any school or school district.
The state also took awards for On-Line Employment Application, which allows applicants for state obs to apply online, and for its Bureau of Criminal Investigations Webcheck, which allows a name and fingerprint check system for participating agencies.
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