The nominees for the Strategic Leadership and Governance Award, one of four categories of program excellence awards in ICMA's Annual Awards Program, represent programs or processes developed by local governments that have positively impacted the way that local government operates. The nominations came from a variety of local governments and showcased many different solutions to prevalent problems. Listed below are some of the highlights and main points of the nominees in this award category. Follow the links to read more about these local government programs in their award nomination submissions.
The award winners in the Strategic Leadership and Governance category were selected by a 17- member awards evaluation panel. Mission, Kansas, the award recipient for populations of less than 10,000, created a program to promote development in their community to generate new investments. The award winning program for populations of 10,000 to 49,999 was Decatur, Georgia’s “The Sound of the City” that was centered on ensuring that the budgeting process is collaborative and makes it clear to citizens the reasons why and how decisions are made. Schaumburg, Illinois’ award winning Talent Management program for populations of 50,000 or greater was crafted in order to address the retirement of current and future key village leaders and find adequate replacements.
One of the main categories that these projects focused on were improved service delivery and customer service. Such services ranged from general utilities to the land development and permit process. The City of Bothell, Washington has created the Development Services Initiative which streamlined the development review and permitting process in such a way that time required to obtain a permit was reduced from eight weeks to two weeks. Other jurisdictions recognized for programs targeting service delivery and improved customer service include Montgomery, Ohio, Leesburg, Virginia, Tamarac, Florida, Orange County, Florida, and Port Richey, Florida.
Additionally, there were a significant amount of nominees that created innovative strategic plans for their jurisdiction. The plans nominated represent long term initiatives based on specific goals. Moreover, there were also plans that relied heavily on citizen input by way of meetings and internet surveys. The strategic plans crafted by these local governments not only strived to improve overall functionality, but also focus on goals such as improved school reputations and new redevelopment projects. Nominees include West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Camden County, Georgia, Lee's Summit, Missouri, Charlotte County, Florida, Westminster, Colorado, Delray Beach, Florida, and Pasco County, Florida.
With the current economic climate, local governments have been nominated for their programs that improve the budgeting process. Great Barrington, Massachusetts has sought to create a budgeting process that makes it possible to continue redevelopment projects that are already in place.
Jurisdictions in Colorado, Michigan, Texas, and North Carolina have been nominated for their development of programs to promote employee productivity and employee relations. Programs in Aurora, Colorado and Ottawa County, Michigan aim to increase the knowledge base and training of all employees to ensure they are continually developing skills. Allen, Texas’ program is derived from an employee recognition program to encourage workers and create a positive work environment where individuals are motivated to provide a high standard of customer service. In Wake County, North Carolina, local government leaders have attempted to encourage employees through the development of health promotion programs to take preventative health measures.
A developing issue in certain jurisdictions has proved to be retirement planning. The nominated program from Sedgwick County, Kansas sought to identify retiring leaders and clarify the skills required for that position to make finding new leaders more effective.
Finally, there are local governments that have sought to promote civic engagement and integration of values into everyday life. Miami Beach, Florida has been nominated for the development of a program that educated citizens about the operations of local governments and has resulted in increased participation in neighborhood associations. Furthermore, Waterloo, Ontario has created a separate plan to determine five core values for the jurisdiction and ways to integrate them into everyday life. Alternatively, Mesa, Arizona has created an advertising campaign program to foster awareness among residents about water conservation in order to promote positive change.
To find more information about additional program award nominees, please visit the Knowledge Network’s “Documents” page and select “Award” as the document type.