Two communities were recognized during ICMA’s 102nd Annual Conference in Kansas City last month with Community Health and Safety Awards. These awards recognize the local government programs or processes that demonstrate innovation, excellence, and success in the community’s health, safety, and/or wellness, including enhancement in the quality of life for the disadvantaged.

Stormwater Relief Program 

Flooding had plagued the village of Niles, Illinois, since the 1970s, but came to a head in September 2008 when it was hit with 9.5 inches of rain in 15 hours. The region was declared a federal disaster area, with over $1.5 million in damage. The solution was the creation of a comprehensive Stormwater Relief Program.

 

Phase I began in 2009. Two of the three major Tier I capital projects recommended in 2012 are now complete, and the third, the largest infrastructure project in the village’s history, will be completed in 2017. Among the lessons learned from this project were be straight with residents (even when it gets tough); act on urgent issues swiftly and report accomplishments to the public; if you think something is impossible, think again; and nurture contacts with regional, state, and federal agencies.

Community Care Initiative

Data showed that Mesa, Arizona’s  911 system had morphed from responding to medical emergencies to handling low-grade illnesses and injuries, medication refills, and mental health needs. The city analyzed data to see how it could lower health care costs, make delivery more efficient, and improve resident health. 

Over the course of 6 months in 2012-2013, the city tested a pilot program based on community paramedicine, linking firefighter-paramedics with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and licensed behavioral health counselors. The program handled 983 patient encounters for a cost savings of over $1,000,000. 

 

With a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the city launched the Community Care Initiative, a three-year program based on the six-month pilot. Amond the lessons learned by the city were public-private collaborations require coordination of human resource policies, such as employee development and progressive discipline; and few entities involved in health care (insurance payers, hospitals) are willing to share data. By devising ways that data sharing would benefit them and their customers, the program gained valuable data-sharing agreements.

About the Awards

ICMA’s Local Government Excellence Awards honor creative contributions to professional local government management and increase public awareness of the value of professional management to the quality of life in our communities. Each year, ICMA confers awards in four program and five professional excellence categories. 

Nominations will be accepted beginning in early January for the 2017 program, and awards will be conferred during ICMA’s 103rd Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas; October 22-25, 2017. Direct questions to Felicia Littky, awards program manager, at flittky@icma.org or 202/962-3656.

More information is available on the award-winning programs in the ICMA 2016 Awards Booklet.