The Brown County Commissioners received the “2018 Outstanding Team Effort for a Board of Commissioners” award at the Indiana Association of County Commissioners’ annual conference last week.

The award was for their role in bringing broadband internet to Brown County.

This year, Jackson County REMC committed to spending around $3.4 million to provide high-speed internet to their customers here, and South Central Indiana REMC committed to spending about $17 million to bring high-speed internet to Brown County.

In March, the commissioners approved an ordinance declaring the entire county as an infrastructure development zone, using a state law created in 2013 with the hope it would entice broadband internet companies to expand service. It allowed broadband internet providers to get exemptions on their business personal property taxes.

In January, the Brown County Council told REMC they would do anything necessary to bring high-speed internet to the 7,200 households they serve.

The commissioners and council also jointly approved an Indiana Broadband Ready Community resolution and an ordinance for a Broadband Ready Community.

Broadband Ready is a pledge that communities can adopt to make expanding broadband as roadblock-free as possible for companies that are willing to invest. Brown County was the first county to become Broadband Ready; Nashville was the first town.

“This board of county commissioners took the necessary steps to reduce barriers to broadband infrastructure investment and facilitated innovative broadband initiatives that will drastically increase broadband services to all people living, visiting and doing business in the county and deserve recognition for outstanding team effort for a board of county commissioners,” the IACC release states.

Commissioners Diana Biddle and Jerry Pittman were at the conference to accept the award; President Dave Anderson was absent due to illness.