Five Counties Work Together in the Cloud

Five southeast Michigan counties are collaborating using cloud computing. The chief elected officials of Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Livingston and St. Clair counties announced Wednesday that they are utilizing G2G Cloud Solutions to improve services and efficiency while saving taxpayers money.

G2G positions leading-edge government software in the cloud for other governments using Oakland County’s hardware. It currently provides three types of services in the cloud: over the counter payments, online payments, and web publishing suite.

“The fact that our five counties encompass more than 2.8 million residents across more than 3,300 square miles gives you an idea of the scope of this collaboration,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “G2G is the ultimate in shared government services.”

Macomb County is the latest participant in G2G, signing on just two weeks ago. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel joined Patterson at a news conference Wednesday along with Carol Griffith, chairperson of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, the original G2G participants; Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Jamie Curtis; St. Clair County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Jeff Blohm; and 52nd District Court Chief Judge Julie Nicholson.

“Signing on this month as a participant in the G2G cloud will enable Macomb County to take our services to the next level,” Hackel said. “It’ll also be good for our taxpayers’ bottom line.”

Over the counter payments allows government agencies to take credit card payments at their counter.  Online Payments is an easy, convenient and secure online payments solution that can provide any type of online payments on a government website.  Governments improve service delivery through electronic payments by making it easier for their constituencies to pay user fees for government services. Taxpayers save money because their local governments no longer have to deduct credit card fees. The web publishing suite is a web design and hosting solution that enables governments to create and manage their own online presence.

“Recently, we redesigned our county website utilizing G2G Cloud Solutions and have found this to be an advantage in numerous ways: quality services to our residents, reduction in counter traffic to our departments - and equally as important - Livingston County has become more effective and efficient in our delivery of services,” Livingston County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Carol Griffith said.

Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Jamie Curtis said the demands of the 21st Century require governments to find innovative solutions to delivering quality services while reducing costs.

“Genesee County has embraced working with other counties in a shared service format in a big way,” Curtis said. “When our Board set a goal of increasing the quality of public services, without increasing the budget, we were forced to look for different ways of doing business.  In this regard, we found the case for shared services overwhelming.”

Courts are also using the cloud to make a visit to the local court more user-friendly.

“The 52nd District Court has served as a pilot court for online misdemeanor payments and over the counter payments utilizing G2G,” 52nd District Court Chief Judge Julie Nicholson said. “This innovative technology has allowed us to serve the public in a more efficient and fiscally responsible manner.” 

Oakland County has fostered intergovernmental cooperation for more than 35 years providing technology solutions to its 62 municipalities. These technologies have included network infrastructure, email, GIS, land and tax systems, web development and hosting, and much more. The cloud represents the next generation evolution of sharing applications and technology.

“G2G is breaking the mold for government technology. The possibilities are endless when we strive to work together,” said Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County.