The Association of California Cities – Orange County (ACC-OC) hosted its 4th annual Golden Hub of Innovation Awards on June 25, 2015 at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana to honor and recognize the tremendous ingenuity found within Orange County.
The Golden Hub Awards program publicly highlights and commends local Orange County governments for developing and implementing innovative solutions to a variety of current challenges in municipal leadership. Awards were given to those cities and agencies whose programs best reflected the spirit of the Golden Hub.
“Local governments are the laboratories of innovation,” said Lacy Kelly, CEO of ACC-OC. “We are proud to honor these leaders, whose innovations are creating efficiencies in government while saving taxpayer dollars.”
Seventeen winners in eight separate categories were recognized for excellence. The winners include:
Innovator of the Year: Paul Cook, General Manager, Irvine Ranch Water District
Category: Budget & Finance
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Orange – Fiscal Prudence in Managing Worker’s Compensation Claims
Small City (Fewer than 100,000 people): City of Newport Beach – Accelerated Pension Payment Savings Program
Category: Economic Development
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Costa Mesa – Costa Mesa Small Lot Ordinance
Category: Energy and Environmental Quality
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Huntington Beach – Street and Parking Lot Lighting Retrofit Program
Category: Public Engagement
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Huntington Beach – Huntington Beach Public Library Book Shack
Non-City, Agency or Organization: OC Waste and Recycling – Community Outreach and Ambassador Program & Landfill Good Neighbor Policy
Category: Public Safety
Large City (100,000 people or more): Anaheim Police Department – Public Safety Career Pipeline
Small City (Fewer than 100,000 people): Newport Beach Police Department – The Stolen Collection
Non-City, Agency or Organization: Orange County Sheriff’s Department – Traffic Safety Initiative
Category: Staffing and Service Delivery
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Anaheim – “Field To Office” Training Program
Category: Strategic Partnerships
Large City (100,000 people or more): City of Huntington Beach – Huntington Beach Council on Aging Huntington Beach Public/Private Partnership
Small City (Fewer than 100,000 people): City of Tustin – Tustin Community Center at the Market Place
Non-City, Agency or Organization: Orange County Transportation Authority – Real Time Mobile Bus Information
Category: Technology and E-Government
Large City (100,000 people or more): Costa Mesa Police Department – Costa Mesa PAAC Program
Small City (Fewer than 100,000 people): City of Lake Forest – Dual Plumbing at Lake Forest Sports Park
Non-City, Agency or Organization: Orange County Stormwater – Overwatering is Out
Respected government, labor, education, business and non-profit leaders served as the Judging Committee for this year’s awards. The committee reviewed all Golden Hub applications and selected the winners in each category.
For more information about the Golden Hub of Innovation Award winners or the ACC-OC, visit www.accoc.org.