What Makes a Government More Digital?

What's the deal in Maryland and Virginia when it comes to information technology and government? In its 2007 list of the most advanced digital counties, which the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties released this week, 11 counties in Maryland and Virginia made the list. Together the states' counties account for 23 percent of the 47 positions in the rankings. (Some counties tied for spots on the list, which divides counties into four categories based on population.) Counties were ranked on more than 100 measurements including online service delivery, IT infrastructures and architectures, and governance models.

The two Mid-Atlantic states had quite a showing. Maryland and Virginia have only 158 counties or county equivalents (such as independent cities) between them. That's only 5 percent of the total number of counties and equivalents in the United States, far less than the 23 percent representation on the list.

What gives? Could it be that proximity to Washington, D.C., provides some influence on local governments' willingness to invest in technology? Or maybe the ocean air has some influence. Non-coastal states placed only 17 counties (18 percent) on the list, despite the fact that the vast majority of counties are in non-coastal states. Texas, which boasts the largest number of counties (254), didn't place one county on the list.

We've asked the Center for Digital Government to speculate on why some states had a larger representation than others, but we have yet to hear back. We'll let you know when we do.

But while we wait, we can provide this reason: As is the case with most things in life, money plays the biggest part. The counties in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area are wealthy, as are most of the counties in California, New York and in the Mid-west that made the list. While a good rule of thumb, the reason is not universal. Yuma County, Ariz., with a fiscal 2006-2007 budget of $82 million, made the list. Maybe that county has some insights to show other governments.