PUBLIC WORKS APWA ACCREDITATION Hits Milestones City of Lakeland’s Department of Public Works has been charging ahead with its APWA accreditation efforts since January, and in just six months, a lot of progress has been made. The American Public Works Association (APWA) manages an accreditation program that assesses public works organizations regarding compliance with regulatory directives, effectiveness in daily operations, administrative efficiency and regulation, continuous improvement, performance measurement, and a variety of other considerations. Public Works has met two major milestones in the accreditation self-assessment phase; reaching both the 25% and 50% completion point slightly ahead of schedule by assessing and establishing compliance on at least 200 of the 400 practices that determine accreditation. During the self-assessment phase, all Public Works divisions have also been strengthening and completing many policies and standard operating procedures simultaneously, which will better accommodate the transition into the improvement phase of the accreditation process. Recently the department produced an informative video that highlights many of the services provided by Public Works. The video, entitled "Because of Public Works," debuted during the May 20th, 2013 City Commission meeting to much enthusiasm and was subsequently posted online on the City of Lakeland Public Works Facebook page as well as the department’s page on the official City of Lakeland website. After completing the self-assessment and improvement phases, Public Works will invite subject matter experts from other accredited organizations in Florida to provide an on-site evaluation simulation to determine our readiness for final evaluation. Finally, Public Works will undergo a final evaluation by the APWA’s Accreditation program staff. Out of more than 29,000 Public Works agencies in North America, less than 100 are accredited by the APWA. Only seven of those accredited agencies are from Florida. With the effort being put forth by City of Lakeland Public Works employees in exceeding expectations for milestone accomplishment, outreach, and improvement, the department expects it will meet or beat the 3-year average accreditation timeline. With the momentum and achievements that have been made, City of Lakeland leadership is looking forward to ultimate success in the journey to APWA accreditation!
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