Montgomery County earned national recognition for technology and process improvements that are changing how employees work, how residents access information, and how government services are delivered.

Among the County’s 2026 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award winners is Project Bluejay, a drone program developed by the Department of Permitting Services to make inspections faster, safer, and more precise. Drones can access stormwater systems, sediment basins, green roofs, steep grading sites, roofs, and other difficult terrain while capturing high-resolution imagery and real-time data. The technology has dramatically shortened some inspections: large sites that once required a week to assess can now be inspected in minutes. Fewer vehicle trips also support the County’s broader environmental goals.

Artificial intelligence is also changing the way County employees find information. The Office of Human Resources launched Scout, an AI-powered virtual assistant providing employees, job applicants, and retirees with 24/7 access to guidance on benefits, leave, hiring, and other employment processes. Users can also submit service requests directly into the County’s ticketing system when additional assistance is needed.

Other initiatives are using data to make government more transparent. The Department of Permitting Services Public Permitting Dashboard provides real-time information on review and permit issuance turnaround times, helping residents, businesses, and developers understand what to expect while giving County leadership a tool to identify bottlenecks. Similarly, the Office of Animal Services Dashboard makes performance information publicly accessible, providing data on shelter intake and outcomes, live release rates, stray dog returns to owners, and daily animal populations.

Behind the scenes, Montgomery County is modernizing the data that powers government operations. Between November 2025 and January 2026, the County updated 85,000 building footprints using shape-based logic within its geographic information system. The project achieved 98% geometric accuracy without new capital or operating costs, while preserving valuable County-maintained information associated with the buildings.

The County also earned recognition for the MCDOT GIS HubSite, which consolidates 73 authoritative datasets and 33 applications and maps into one searchable location for transportation employees, and the MCP3DSETI pilot, which uses three-dimensional “reality capture” to reduce the need for engineers to repeatedly travel to transportation infrastructure sites for measurements and planning.

Technology improvements extend to the County’s financial and administrative operations. Award-winning initiatives automate invoice creation, digitize warehouse documentation, modernize vendor registration, improve inventory controls, streamline wholesale pickup operations, and strengthen workforce absence tracking. The County also received recognition for leadership and supervisor development programs aimed at equipping employees to manage teams and navigate an increasingly complex public-sector workplace.

Taken together, the initiatives show technology being applied at very different scales. From a drone flying over a construction site to systems residents may never see but that can save staff time and improve government operations. To learn more and see the full list of awards visit the awards page on the NACo website.

These honors are part of 165 NACo Achievement Awards earned by Maryland counties this year, recognizing programs and services across nearly every area of local government.