2009 Municipal Winners

Under 10,000 Population

Village of Brokaw - Municipal Water Supply Agreement

The village of Brokaw needed to site a new municipal water supply well and construct a water treatment system to meet Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources drinking water standards, and to provide backup for an existing well. With a population of just under 175, the cost of these projects threatened the viability of the community. Instead, Brokaw worked to negotiate a wholesale water supply agreement with neighboring Wausau. The agreement saved significant capital and operating costs, and will allow the village to continue to grow and prosper.

Village of Bayside - Performance Improvements (Dept. of Community and Utility Services)

As part of the village's efforts to deliver quality, cost-effective services, a comprehensive performance measurement system was implemented. Recently, the system was used to benchmark time spent by village staff on waste collection versus preventative maintenance, repair and other activities. Information gathered allowed the village to re-prioritize and re-allocate the collection workload. The village's enhanced website, along with social media such as Twitter and Facebook were used to communicate important and somewhat complex changes to residents and other stakeholders. Cost savings, improved responsiveness to citizens' requests and greater transparency in decision-making resulted from the performance changes.

Over 10,000 Population

Village of Allouez - Allouez Police Cadets

Through a partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, the village created a program to use trained police science students to provide quasi-law enforcement services. The cadets, who earn credit for participating, identify property code violations, provide bicycle patrols of village parks, run traffic radar and provide other basic services. Higher level enforcement issues and violations are referred to the village's professional police staff for followup.