HP Earns Top Award for Service
Release Date: Jul. 20, 2006
Highland Park News
By: Kenneth L R. Patchen, Staff Writer
Highland Park has been recognized as one of the top three communities in the United States for delivery of municipal services to residents in 2005.
The city was giving a Voice of the People Excellence Award in seven of nine categories for service and also recognized for significant improvement in service quality in 2005 by the National Research Center, Inc., of Denver, Colo.
The award is based on comparisons of survey responses from communities of all sizes throughout the United States on a wide range of questions about the quality of municipal services. Only three communities are recognized nationally in each of the nine categories. This is the second time in five years Highland Park has had the National Research Center conduct an independent random survey to provide feedback used by City Council members to prepare the annual municipal budget.
The city received Voice of the People Excellence Awards in the following seven categories: overall service, emergency medical services, fire, library and police services, code enforcement services, and park services by the Park District of Highland Park.
"Highland Park won the most awards of all the communities," said Heather Locke of the National Research Center.
City Manager David M. Limardi said in a written statement, "To be recognized as one of the top three communities in the country for overall service delivery is a significant achieventment."
According to a written statement by Locke, for a community to earn the Excellence Award, the rating for service quality must be among the top three of all eligible jurisdictions in 2005 and of the top 10% of over 400 jurisdictions in the National Research Center database of citizen surveys. The data base provides the basis for comparisons.
The city received the Transformation Award in 2005 for its significant service improvements in overall services and for garbage collection. Only one community can be recognized in each of the eight categories, Highland Park was honored in two categories.
For the Transformation Award, in a written statement, Locke reported the "improvement in service quality rating must be significantly higher than the rating from the most recent prior survey conducted in the jurisdiction and larger than improvement shown in all other eligible jurisdictions in 2005."
Assistant City Manager Patrick Brennan said the Transformation Award for garbage services probably referred to the city's process to change residential waste haulers a few years ago when problems to collect recyclables were reported by residents.
The value of the survey is that feedback from a random sample of the local population is more representative, Locke said, and is not just from people who feel strongly on an issue.
"It provides information that cities do not usually have access to," she said.
The city will receive the award at the September conference of the International City/County Management Association in San Antonio. The survey conducted by the National Research Center is administered as a service for members by the association.
By: Kenneth L R. Patchen, Staff Writer
Highland Park has been recognized as one of the top three communities in the United States for delivery of municipal services to residents in 2005.
The city was giving a Voice of the People Excellence Award in seven of nine categories for service and also recognized for significant improvement in service quality in 2005 by the National Research Center, Inc., of Denver, Colo.
The award is based on comparisons of survey responses from communities of all sizes throughout the United States on a wide range of questions about the quality of municipal services. Only three communities are recognized nationally in each of the nine categories. This is the second time in five years Highland Park has had the National Research Center conduct an independent random survey to provide feedback used by City Council members to prepare the annual municipal budget.
The city received Voice of the People Excellence Awards in the following seven categories: overall service, emergency medical services, fire, library and police services, code enforcement services, and park services by the Park District of Highland Park.
"Highland Park won the most awards of all the communities," said Heather Locke of the National Research Center.
City Manager David M. Limardi said in a written statement, "To be recognized as one of the top three communities in the country for overall service delivery is a significant achieventment."
According to a written statement by Locke, for a community to earn the Excellence Award, the rating for service quality must be among the top three of all eligible jurisdictions in 2005 and of the top 10% of over 400 jurisdictions in the National Research Center database of citizen surveys. The data base provides the basis for comparisons.
The city received the Transformation Award in 2005 for its significant service improvements in overall services and for garbage collection. Only one community can be recognized in each of the eight categories, Highland Park was honored in two categories.
For the Transformation Award, in a written statement, Locke reported the "improvement in service quality rating must be significantly higher than the rating from the most recent prior survey conducted in the jurisdiction and larger than improvement shown in all other eligible jurisdictions in 2005."
Assistant City Manager Patrick Brennan said the Transformation Award for garbage services probably referred to the city's process to change residential waste haulers a few years ago when problems to collect recyclables were reported by residents.
The value of the survey is that feedback from a random sample of the local population is more representative, Locke said, and is not just from people who feel strongly on an issue.
"It provides information that cities do not usually have access to," she said.
The city will receive the award at the September conference of the International City/County Management Association in San Antonio. The survey conducted by the National Research Center is administered as a service for members by the association.