Clark County Recorder and Assessor Receive 2009 NACo Achievement Award

Today the Clark County Commission recognized County Recorder Debbie Conway and County Assessor M. W. Schofield as recipients of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award for the implementation of the Q-Matic Automated Queuing System.

The NACo Achievement Awards recognize innovative county government programs across the country. As the NACo award letter cites, it is “pleased with the high caliber county program and projects and recognizes your county's [Recorder's and Assessor's Offices] hard work to promote quality, efficient, and responsive management and administration.”

“I am so proud of the staff and their award-winning achievement,” Conway said. “We found an innovative way to improve services and make the department more efficient.” Conway pointed out that the Recorder's Office identified a need for a more effective way to record documents and obtain copies of marriage certificates and official records by reducing the wait time for citizens and create the ability to manage the flow using the Q-Matic system.

“On behalf of my associates, it has been an honor to have participated in this project and to have received recognition from the National Association of Counties for its successful implementation,” Schofield said. “This just demonstrates how beneficial it is to the public when public officials work collaboratively for the greater good of those we serve.”

The Q-Matic system is comprised of electronic ticket printers to issue numbers to the citizens, LED display signs to direct citizens to the appropriate station, and provide audio announcement of numbers. Citizens are registered upon arrival and are served in the order of their entry into the queue.

Prior to Conway's administration and before implementing Q-Matic, it was common for customers to stand in line and wait for an hour to be entered into the queue and issued a number to record a document. Afterwards, an additional wait could exceed two hours to complete a transaction. Having citizens stand in line was a hardship on the elderly and disabled, as well as the general public. Recorder Conway says, “We needed a solution, and since implementing Q-Matic, total wait time has decreased considerably and now averages between 5 to 20 minutes.“

Recorder Conway and Assessor Schofield have consistently encouraged their associates to be proactive in discovering collaborative, innovative ways to execute enhanced technology and customer service programs. By working together, customers who conduct business in both offices can queue in at once, rather than having to go through a second line and being queued in the system a second time. This joint partnership has created a relaxed atmosphere for citizens and greater staff productivity.

NACo's Achievement Awards recognize counties for improving the management of and services provided by county government. Since the program's inception in 1970, the Achievement Award Program has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have improved service delivery, achieved greater cost efficiency, provided finer customer service, and helped to develop a better-trained work force. In addition, the award-winning programs have provided the National Association of Counties and its membership with an extensive database of successful county programs.