Published: October 14, 2009 10:29 am      

Kouns receives statewide award

The Association of Indiana Counties announced that Boone County Highway Supervisor Tom Kouns is the 2009 Outstanding County Highway Supervisor. The award is in recognition of his contributions made to county government throughout his years of public service. Nominees and winners for this award each year are chosen by county highway engineers across the state.

Monday, Oct. 5, Commissioner Marc Applegate congratulated Kouns on the honor.

Boone is the only Indiana county to have two highway superintendents win the honor, Applegate said. Dick Robertson, now a Lebanon city councilman, is the other.

Kouns received the award last week during the AIC’s Annual Conference, the largest gathering of county officials in the state. The four-day conference included 11 different workshops, and breakout sessions that were designed specifically for each county office. County officials also had informal opportunities to discuss issues with their colleagues from other areas of the state.

Officials met at the French Lick Resort in Orange County to discuss and offer solutions for issues facing local governments. Representatives from public agencies, private entities, universities and local elected officials addressed such issues as: government modernization, the development of clean energy, how to balance shrinking revenues and the need for services provided by county government, cyclical reassessments, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Troubled Asset Relief Program Funds and increasing efficiencies in local government.