Managing Information Technology : Transforming County Governments in the 1990's

County governments are in a transitional & exciting phase of their evolution. When they were originally created, over 350 years ago, their main purpose was to serve the needs of rural areas. Today, they have become the governmental arena that is most directly affected by the changing regulatory, socio-economic, & demographic conditions which confront our society. These rapid & demanding external forces are creating new approaches to administration & service delivery at the county level. Counties have emerged in the past decade as the fastest growing type of government based on their population increases & state & federal mandates for service delivery. Not only has the need for the more traditional county services intensified, but a host of emerging & urgent issues are confronting the counties, which demands a service response. Included in these are problems such as solid waste disposal, clean air & water, transportaion, corrections, disaster management, aging populations, & family violence. As a response to these issues, many counties have become more creative in their efforts to increase both efficiency & service delivery--with service delivery often being the most important strategic object. Managing information technology is one way to support these efforts. Information technology is seen as a vehicle for working "smart"--for doing more with less--& for meeting the increasing service delivery needs of the citizens.Fletcher, Patricia T. is the author of 'Managing Information Technology : Transforming County Governments in the 1990's', published 1992 under ISBN 9780685601648 and ISBN 0685601641.