Hardin County leaders unveiled a report Wednesday that details the state of technology in the area and prescribes a road map for tech-based growth.

The project is part of Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s Prescription for Innovation, a plan to bring high-speed Internet access to every Kentucky home and increase the number of high-tech businesses and jobs in the state.

The Connect Hardin County report shows area residents are ahead of the Kentucky average in several technology areas.

High-speed Internet access is available to approximately 89 percent of Hardin County households, compared to 77 percent of households statewide, according to ConnectKentucky. The organization is a nonprofit agency that guided the Hardin County eCommunity Leadership Team in compiling the growth plan. Unserved areas of Hardin County largely are along the Breckinridge County line or west of Sonora and Upton.

About 74 percent of Hardin County residents have Internet access at home, compared to 60 percent of all Kentuckians. Of those, 39 percent of adults in Hardin County subscribe to a broadband service, compared to 32 percent of all Kentucky adults.

Residents without broadband services most commonly said they avoided it because they didn’t need it or it is too expensive, an agency survey revealed.

Increasing broadband availability and use is one of ConnectKentucky’s three goals, said Michael Ramage, a project manager for the western third of Kentucky, which includes Hardin County. The goals also include increasing the use of computers and the Internet and building the online presence of local governments.

The report recommends steps to improve technology in the nine sectors reviewed by the leadership team. The sectors include business and industry, health care, libraries, education, community-based organizations, government, agriculture, tourism, recreation and parks.

The recommendations include using money-saving Internet phone service, broadcasting public meetings on the Internet and providing incentives for students to purchase laptops.

The report, which is available at www.connectkentucky.org, shows technology assessments and visions for each sector. For example, one assessment of business and industry shows some office employees have always-on Internet connections at their desks. The vision, however, is for some businesses to use Internet phone services, some workers to have converted from desktop computers to portable devices and for some office computers to have video conferencing ability.

In each sector, the vision demands more than the current assessment offers.

“I think the important piece is that it was our goal in every case to improve ourselves,” Ramage said.

For the next 18 months, the leadership team’s top priorities are increasing technology education and making government more accessible online.

The technology education initiative includes organizing classes with the goal of increasing computer usage.

Government Web sites would be improved to cut the need for visiting city halls and other government agencies.

Elizabethtown mayor David Willmoth, a member of the eCommunity Leadership Team, said an expanded Web site might provide many of the services consumers have become accustomed to in the private sector. For example, residents might be able to pay city utility bills or fill out building permit applications online.

Technology is becoming more important to individuals and businesses, leaders said, and improvements, such as the expansion of broadband usage, will enhance the area economy and quality of life.

“I couldn’t do my job without the Internet, and most businesses couldn’t function,” said Harry Berry, Hardin County Judge/Executive and eCommunity Leadership Team member. “In fact, high-speed Internet access is one of the most important things businesses inquire about when they talk to our industrial foundations. It’s road, rails, airport and T1 lines.”