Sheboygan County was named a winner of the 2009 Wisconsin Good Government Award at the annual conference of the Wisconsin Counties Association held recently in La Crosse.

The award will be presented to the Sheboygan County Board during its meeting tonight.

The award program, established in 2003 by Green Bay-based consulting engineering firm Foth, recognizes outstanding examples of intergovernmental cooperation and local government cost savings efforts by municipalities and counties throughout the state.

Sheboygan County was selected due to three innovative programs: its program evaluation and prioritization process; its InHealth Clinic; and a shared purchasing agent staff position with the City of Sheboygan.

"We believe broader recognition of intergovernmental cooperation will help foster its growth," said Tim J. Weyenberg, Foth's chief executive officer, in a press release. "Everyone in the state benefits from the improved efficiencies that result when units of government work together, and when governments find creative ways to do more with less in these tough budgetary times."

The Wisconsin Good Government Award is presented in cooperation with the Wisconsin Counties Association, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and the Wisconsin Towns Association. Nominations for the Good Government Award were submitted in late July.

"The vision of Sheboygan County is to be recognized as a leader of responsive and cost-effective local government. We are honored to be selected for the Good Government Award," County Board Chairman Mike Vandersteen said in a press release.