Avian flu response garners award for Dubois County
The Association of Indiana Counties’ (AIC) has awarded Dubois County, the State of Indiana and the U.S. Department of Agriculture the 2016 Local Government Cooperation Award for its response to the avian flu epidemic in January 2016.
The outbreak impacted a large percentage of turkey producers in the region. The cooperative responsive between more than 20 local agencies is being credited with epidemic’s relatively short life cycle compared to similar epidemics across the nation.
Counties that win this prestigious award must demonstrate that the project meets the following criteria:
• Demonstrate cooperation between one or more municipalities and county(s) and include a high level of positive collaboration
• Innovation
• Positive impact on the community and the participating governmental units
• Potential for the activity to serve as a model for other local governments
The award was announced Wednesday evening during the AIC Annual Conference in Fort Wayne. Counties that win this award are chosen by a committee comprised of elected county officials from across the state.
The AIC’s Annual Conference is the largest gathering of county officials in the state. Representatives from public agencies, private entities, and local elected officials addressed issues such as: the future of road funding, how new federal labor rules and regulations affect counties, government ethics, trends on open data and government transparency, and Medicaid expansion, among many other issues impacting county government.
