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Municipal Leader of the Year Mayor Buddy Dyer is New York, Boston and Miami-Dade County describe how
transforming Orlando into more than a tourist stop they are engaging residents through social media
Serving government leaders since 1909
December 2010
America’s Crown
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recognize cities and
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and history
Elections:
Locals prepare
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A Penton Media Publication
Editorial Director/Associate Publisher
In this issue December 2010
Bill Wolpin, bill.wolpin@penton.com
Managing Editor – Lindsay Isaacs, lindsay.isaacs@penton.com
Associate Editor – Ed Brock, edward.brock@penton.com
volume 125, number 13
Art Director – Wes Clark, wesley.clark@penton.com
26
Contributing Editors – Michael Keating, Stephen Ursery, Steven Averett
Web Manager – Andrew Vaupel, andrew.vaupel@penton.com
EDItorIAL ADVISory BoArD

Public Works Director, Santa Barbara, Calif. – Christine Andersen
Public Works Director, rawlins, Wyo. (retired) – Bruce Florquist
Mayor, Apple Valley, Minn. – Mary Hamann-roland
Supervisor, Saunders County, Neb. – Doris Karloff
Center for Building Community Abilene Christian University–
Gary McCaleb
International City/County Management Association –
robert o’Neill
Mayor, ocoee, Fla. – Scott Vandergrift
Senior Vice President

Bob MacArthur, bob.macarthur@penton.com
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Bill Perry, bill.perry@penton.com
Eastern region Sales
Dave Gibson, dave.gibson@penton.com
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Features
ron Klimko, ron.klimko@penton.com, and ron Corey, ron.corey@penton.com Annual Awards
26 AmericA’s
Western region Sales
Erin McLeish, erin.mcleish@penton.com
online Advertising Specialist
crown
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Junior Display Sales representative
communities
John rohling, john.rohling@penton.com
Classified Sales
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Buyers Guide Package Sales
Kathy Davis, kathy.davis@penton.com
Cities and counties pull together to protect
List rental – Marie Briganti, 877-796-6947, lives, property and history. By Nancy Jackson
mbriganti@meritdirect.com
Marketing Director
Susie Barroso, susie.barroso@penton.com
Municipal Leader of the Year
36 working on
Ad Production Coordinator — Display
Jocelyn Hartzog, jocelyn.hartzog@penton.com
Ad Production Coordinator — Classified
A dreAm
Michael Penelton, michael.penelton@penton.com
Audience Marketing Director
Julie Neely, julie.neely@penton.com
Orlando, Fla., Mayor Buddy Dyer is
transforming the city into more than a
tourist destination. By Robert Barkin
Chief Executive officer
Sharon rowlands, sharon.rowlands@penton.com
Chief Financial officer/Executive Vice President
Nicola Allais, nicola.allais@penton.com
IT Management
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www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 3

44
In this issue 46
Departments
6 Editor’s Viewpoint
8 On the Web
issues trends
10 ElECtIOnS brInG 50 56
COnSErVAtIVE ShIft In
COnGrESS, StAtES
Local government associations plan to protect
existing programs
12 ‘E-dISCOVEry’ COStS ArE

hIGh fOr thE unPrEPArEd
Plan now to store electronic documents for
possible lawsuits, experts say
13 nO frIES WIth thAt

San Francisco calls for healthier fast-food acrossamerica
children’s meals 44 Project profiles
14 GOVErnMEnt by Shining up a Southern jewel
thE nuMbErS Testing texting
Saving public access
16 AGEnCIES InVEStIGAtE Modernizing a landmark pool
thE POSSIblE dAnGErS Of 50 Government gear
‘frACkInG’
As companies drill for natural gas, officials 55 Municipal Cost Index
watch out for water quality
56 In our century
18 lOCAl GOVErnMEnt’S As aviation takes off, cities make use of
lIGhtEr SIdE the quick mode of transportation and
secure their spots on the aerial highways
20 EPA lAunChES GrEEn
POWEr COMMunIty
ChAllEnGE advertisingdepartments
Yearlong initiative seeks to expand alternative
energy use 51 Municipal Marketplace
21 COntrACt & AWArd 52 Specialty Products & Services
AnnOunCEMEntS 53 Ad Index/Subscription form
22 lOCAlS CAnnOt OPt Out Of
ICE fInGErPrInt PrOGrAM
Some officials concerned with cost of
complying
24 flEEt MAnAGErS kEEP 25

hEAdlAMPS ClEAr On
VEhIClES
Dull lights impede safety of police cruisers and
other public cars
25 SnAPShOt
“Maestro,” Green River, Wyo.
4 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

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editor’sviewpoint
TRUTH OR DARE:
WINNER TAkES All
D
id you hear about the British politician who lied about his opponent? He
won the election but lost his seat in Parliament recently when his victory was
overturned by an election court. While using half-truths and other selected
facts to attack political opponents is commonplace in the United States, our
English cousins don’t find such tactics a joking matter. Ask Phil Woolas, a
member of Parliament who ran for re-election in November. Not only was his
victory taken away from him, he also has been banned from serving in the House of Commons for
three years — all based on “facts” he published in election materials, including that his opponent
and his opponent’s party were going to give illegal immigrants the right to stay in the country.
Accused of making false statements by his defeated opponent, Woolas faced an election court,
which determined that he had printed statements in campaign literature that were untrue, and
that doing so was illegal. Woolas appealed to an administrative court, which backed the first
court’s decision and the election results were voided — the first such case in 99 years.
Unlike the Brits, we tend to reserve our reactions for sitting politicians who get caught lying
or otherwise performing illegal acts, such as U.S. Rep. Charlie “What Taxes?” Rangle, South
Carolina Gov. Mark “Appalachian Trail” Sanford and of course, President Bill “I wasn’t Jonzing
for Paula” Clinton. I’ve noticed, though, that most politicians’ responses to the accusations
and eventual proof of wrongdoing follow a pattern: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and
acceptance, a sequence that mirrors the five stages of grief that terminal patients experience.
Oddly, public reactions to political deceptions often follow the same pattern until we get
stuck on anger, which occasionally prompts even stranger behavior: We re-elect them. If that
phenomenon holds true for Phil Woolas, the lying conviction may help him regain his seat, with
his supporters proclaiming his victory as vindication of the truth.
In life, we reward people for getting the job done, and we don’t
tend to ask too many questions about how it was accomplished.
So, is winning, regardless of the tactics, the only standard we
should hold political candidates to? If so, and we reward our
politicians for bad behavior, then at least, we shouldn’t act
surprised when we get more of the same in return.
bill.wolpin@penton.com

ontheweb
Reader comments on www.americancityandcounty.com
“Editor’s Viewpoint: Tennessee “New York creates ‘granny flats,’”
firefighters say they need pay up Oct. 27, 2010
front,” Oct. 13, 2010 — not a senior yet
— Dan_brinkman They best include a covenant in those senior housing areas
These so-called firefighters should face criminal charges that limits occupancy to those of retirement age and over,
and individual lawsuits as well so their pay will be prohibits extended stays of younger people and prohibits
garnished for the next 10 years with liens put against their rentals. Otherwise, as has happened elsewhere, and to
homes, cars, and personal properties. What they did to this someone I know, what is supposed to be quiet and safe
homeowner was beyond unacceptable and downright turns into another noisy, crowded and dangerous place
criminal. with absentee landlords, drug users and all-night parties.
“Viewpoint: Somebody has to pay,” “States with weak gun laws

Oct. 27, 2010 contribute to illegal sales, report
— Robert Ridgeway says,” Oct. 15, 2010
Several years ago when I was chief of a Midwestern — Guardian
department, I got into a discussion with our city attorney I think your reporters should do a better job reviewing the
over the exact same issue. He asked me what the policy information and making sure that the information is correct
of our department was if we arrived on the scene of a fire rather than taking statements from politicians at face value.
and discovered that the incident was actually outside of I think you would find that the report and the statements
the city. My answer to him was, “We go to work and worry are bogus!
about whose area it’s in later.” His response back to me was, — Firedog
“Well, you shouldn’t, because there could be some liability Amen. There are no facts here, just political agenda and
for the city there.” I told him in no uncertain terms that a fire propaganda.
department that arrives on the scene of an emergency like — 4permits
that and does nothing is always wrong, and the court of The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has
public opinion would confirm that if this type of situation already refuted this trash. With 2.5 MILLION defensive uses
were to occur. Of course the good folks in Obion County — of firearms in this country every year.....Guns SAVE Lives!
and their elected officials — should fund fire protection in
the county. But their failure to do so doesn’t relieve the fire “Survey: Nearly two-thirds of U.S.
department of its responsibility to save lives and property
when they arrive on the scene regardless of jurisdiction,
travelers will use high-speed rail,”
revenue, etc. As firefighters, we are responsible to the Nov. 1, 2010
public, and when we fail to live up to that responsibility, we —No Fool
shouldn’t be surprised at the resulting outrage. Well duh! Look who conducted the survey.
— PaulC
Just because APTA conducted the survey doesn’t mean it’s
“California passes pension reform biased. Many industries conduct their own surveys. If we
laws,” Nov. 10, 2010 go off what you are implying, then most surveys are biased
— Tough Love and should not be believed.
As long as changes — Truth in Polling
(such as the rollback) Wonder how many would favor it if they knew they would
ONLY apply to NEW have to pay the full, unsubsidized fare!
employees it’s almost — No such thing as a free ride
meaningless. These I dunno. How many people would drive from city to city if
changes MUST be roadways weren’t government-subsidized (far in excess of
made for CURRENT (yes gas-tax revenues)? How many would fly if cities/counties/
CURRENT) employees states didn’t provide free or subsidized airport facilities? Or if
or we need to outsource the feds didn’t spend way more on the FAA than passengers
90+% of all civil servant actually paid in ticket fees?
positions to END future
pension growth.
Have comments on our stories? Post them below
any article on www.americancityandcounty.com.

issues trends
insight into the latest social, financial and political movements shaping america’s communities
Party control of
state legislatures
n Republican
n Democrat
n Divided
n Nonpartisan
n Undecided
Source: National Conference of
State Legislatures
Elections bring conservative

shift in Congress, states
Local government associations plan to protect existing programs
A
s most polls and pundits had Cochran says he is relatively certain
predicted, the Republican that USCM and other local government
party made major gains in associations can protect at least the CDBG,
the most recent mid-term which enjoys some bipartisan support, and
elections, both in Congress possibly the EECBG. What may happen to
and in state legislatures. the transportation bill is a little harder to
Although most conservative candidates ran predict, he says, but even that should have
on a platform of heavy cuts to government some support on both sides of the aisle. “I
spending, officials with the Washington-based assume that [both political parties] are just as
U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the concerned as mayors are about traffic,” he says.
National Conference of State Legislatures Republicans also took control of state
(USCL) say it is hard to predict how the new legislatures from Democrats in at least 13
legislative bodies will address programs that states, according to NCSL. Tim Story, an
send funds to local governments. NCSL election analyst, says there may be
USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom less money to go around, considering many
Cochran says his primary aim is to preserve Republican candidates ran against creating any
funding for the Community Development new taxes, and state revenues continue to be
Block Grant (CDBG) and the Energy Efficiency flat. “This era of looking for even deeper cuts
and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) and the lack of any increased spending is going
programs. He also is concerned about how to continue, because all the easy things are
the new legislators will view funding for the long gone,” he says.
upcoming transportation bill. — Ed Brock

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issues trends
E-discovery can include
a variety of electronic
files, says Stephen Craig,
former assistant chief
counsel for Phoenix. The
most common type of
file is e-mail, but even
proprietary software
custom-written for
specific city functions,
such as water treatment
plants, can be included.
‘E-discovery’ costs are

high for the unprepared
Plan now to store electronic documents for possible
lawsuits, experts say
O
nce local governments the information, and that cost depends on the
are notified that a lawsuit amount of data.
might be filed against E-discovery plans should first involve the
them, or if they reasonably creation of a response team comprised of
anticipate litigation, they IT, legal and departmental representatives,
are required by federal law Craig says. After determining whether
to preserve all documents and electronic data litigation is actually likely, the team must
that pertains to the case in a “litigation hold.” decide what information must be preserved.
The process for gathering electronic data, He recommends requesting very specific
known as “e-discovery,” is complex and costly, information from the party filing the complaint
so experts say cities and counties should create to avoid spending money saving unrelated data.
e-discovery plans in advance because poor The likelihood that a city or county is
preparation could add to the expense. planning for e-discovery depends on its
E-discovery can be a protracted and size and sophistication, as well as its level of
expensive process, says Stephen Craig, involvement in litigation, says Washington-
former assistant chief counsel for Phoenix. A based International Municipal Lawyers
moderately sized litigation hold for common Association (IMLA) Executive Director Chuck
lawsuits, such as police action and employment Thompson. “Some of the larger cities that
cases, might involve about one terabyte of are more litigious are probably already being
data and could cost at least $500,000, Craig forced to recognize the [need to plan ahead for
says. The costliest part of a litigation hold is e-discovery],” he says.
contracting with a third-party vendor to store — Ed Brock

No fries with that
San Francisco calls for healthier
fast-food children’s meals
ON NOV. 9, SAN FRANCISCO’S BOARD OF SUPERVISORS,
over the objection of Mayor Gavin Newsom, passed a new
law requiring fast-food restaurants in the city to improve the
nutritional content of children’s meals that include toys, such
as the McDonald’s Happy Meal. Supervisor Eric Mar, sponsor of
the ordinance, spoke with American City & County about how
the new rule will fight childhood obesity and his response to
the opposition’s argument that the law intrudes on parents’ Visit www.americancityandcounty.com to hear a
right to choose what their children eat. podcast of Mar’s interview.
Q: What do you say to critics of the

Q: that
What advice would you give to cities
ordinance, such as McDonald’s, who
say that parents should decide what are considering similar ordinances?
their children eat, not the government? The first thing is, look at the research and the public
I think it’s the responsibility of parents, of course, but also health organizations in your area. Utilize the wealth of
the fast-food industry needs to take responsibility as well resources you have in your own community. I would also
for providing healthier options. A recent study by the Yale say look at the great research done by the Rudd Center or
Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity really validates other organizations, such as the Prevention Institute in
a lot of our findings in the city that most fast-food menu Oakland, [Calif.,] and many others. They have the data
items for children that are tied with toys are very, very and support. If people are educated, I think they would
unhealthy, and if children eat too much of the unhealthy see that our ordinance in San Francisco is very modest,
items, it can lead to serious problems with childhood and it’s one step forward to address a growing national
obesity. problem of childhood obesity.
International Code The National Association The Department of

Council
William Dupler, of Water Companies Homeland Security (DHS)
director of the Chesterfield
James County, Va., Department Eric William
Brothers, of Building Inspections,
has been elected vice
Thornburg, Komianos,
building director for president and CEO of risk management director
president.
Decatur, Ala., has been Clinton, Conn.-based for Voorhees, N.J.-based
elected president of Connecticut Water, has American Water Works Co.,
the Washington-based been named president of has been elected chairman
association. the Washington-based of DHS’ Water Sector
association. Coordinating Council.

issues trends
SURVEY SAYS U.S. TRAVELERS
Brownfields WILL USE HIGH-SPEED RAIL
are fertile NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF ADULTS (62 percent) said they would definitely or
ground probably use high-speed rail service for leisure or business travel if it were an option,
according to a survey from the Washington-based American Public Transportation
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF Association (APTA) released Oct. 28. The survey, taken among 24,711 adults, also
BROWNFIELDS — asked how important various factors would be in choosing high-speed rail service.
abandoned or underused Ninety-one percent of respondents said high-speed rail should offer shorter travel
properties where times compared to driving to their destinations, 91 percent said it should be less
redevelopment is expensive than flying, and 85 percent said the rail service should integrate with local
complicated by either real public transit. The entire survey is available at www.apta.com.
or perceived environmental
contamination — can
create jobs and increase
How likely are you to use high-speed rail?
tax revenue, according to a
report released Nov. 9 by the 11%
U.S. Conference of Mayors. ■ Definitely/Probably
Would
84%
of surveyed cities reported
that they have successfully
27% 60% ■ Not sure
■ Probably/Definitely
Would Not
redeveloped brownfield sites

over the past 17 years.
75 State and local IT departments are

reducing energy use
99
out of
SIXTY-TWO PERCENT of local and state government information technology (IT)
departments have or are developing programs to manage and reduce energy
use in IT, according to Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW Government’s (CDW-G) 2010
cities estimated that they had Energy Efficient IT Report. The annual report also says that 64 percent of state and
a total of 29,624 brownfield local governments have reduced IT energy costs by 1 percent or more. From a
sites in 2010. July survey of 756 IT
professionals in the
54
public and private
sectors who purchase
Other survey findings about state and IT equipment,
cities said local governments include:
•
CDW-G found that
brownfield redevelopment three-quarters of
projects created around 14 percent have flattened or reduced IT energy use,
respondents are
161,880 jobs, and 50 cities but increasing prices of electricity continue to drive up IT
•
working to reduce
said brownfield projects had energy costs.
energy use in IT
generated $309 million in tax 77 percent have or are developing a specific data
operations to reduce
revenue since 1993. center consolidation strategy aimed at reducing energy
•
costs and lower
use.
their environmental
Source: U.S. Conference of 68 percent are familiar with the Environmental
impact. The entire
Mayors, “Recycling America’s Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating for Data Centers
•
report is available
Land: A National Report on programs, but only
at www.cdwg.com/
Brownfields Redevelopment 11 percent track power use effectiveness, the core
energyefficientIT.
(1993 – 2010),” Nov. 9, 2010. measurement for the EPA program.

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issues trends
Agencies investigate
the possible dangers of
‘fracking’
As companies drill for natural gas, officials watch
out for water quality
L
ocal governments that determine whether the fracking process has an
have long voiced concerns impact on drinking water and the public health
about the risks of of people who live near fracking wells.
hydraulic fracturing, or The EPA sent the information requests to
fracking — the practice Atlanta-based RPC Inc.; Indiana, Pa.-based
by natural gas producers Superior Well Services; and BJ Services,
of flooding underground gas deposits with Complete Production Services, Halliburton,
The Environmental chemical-containing fluids to force the gas Key Energy Services Patterson-UTI,
Protection up — have finally gotten the ear of the U.S. Schlumberger and Weatherford, all of which
Agency tested the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). are headquartered in Houston. By Nov. 9,
groundwater near In September, the EPA issued information eight out of the nine companies contacted
Pavillion, Wyo., in requests to nine natural gas service companies had agreed to comply with the request, and
January for chemicals as part of a scientific study it is conducting to a subpoena was issued to compel the ninth
used in “fracking.” company, Halliburton, to comply.
EPA will announce initial results of the
Several states, including study in late 2012. In the meantime, the agency
Wyoming, have passed or is working with dozens of state and local
are considering stronger governments that play a role in overseeing
regulations to control and regulating fracturing operations and have
“fracking.” On Nov. 31, been taking steps to protect local air and water
the New York state quality, EPA officials say.
legislature approved In early 2010, EPA officials descended on
a moratorium on the the 166-resident town of Pavillion, Wyo., to
practice, which had not test private water wells and found potential
yet been signed by the groundwater contaminants, including the
governor as of early carcinogen benzene, that may have come from
December. fracking operations, among other possible
sources of contamination. Pavillion Mayor
Gary Hamlin says he would like to see further
disclosure of fluids used in fracking operations.
Although Wyoming set forth new
regulations in August requiring drilling
companies to disclose the chemicals they use
in the fracking process, Hamlin points out that
the state mandates that drillers report those
chemicals only to the EPA and the Department
of Environmental Quality, not to the general
public. “I think no matter what you’re getting
into the ground, if it’s affecting the water table,
I think those chemicals should be disclosed,”
he says.
— Autumn Giusti is a New Orleans-based
freelance writer.

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issues trends
Is that a manhole cover
in your pocket?
crime increases during times of economic stress, and
sometimes the criminals can take unusual steps. In the Denver
metro area, the Great Recession has scrap-metal thieves
trafficking in a new commodity: storm grates.
Denver and Aurora, Colo., have seen 37 of the grates disappear in just the past two weeks, according to the
Denver Post. “This is a new experience for us,” Dan Mikesell, operations manager for Aurora Water, told the
Post. “Maybe we had one missing here and there before, but never in bulk.” Christine Downs, a spokesperson
for Denver Public Works, said the thefts are a sign of desperation on the part of the thieves. “It’s a big risk for a
small reward, and they’re stealing from the city,” Downs said. Mikesell said Aurora officials were worried about
the public’s safety. “People walking down the street at night might not see it, so we’re securing them and
trying to get them replaced as soon as possible,” he said. No injuries or accidents have been reported so far.
Lost: Where’s the fire? Oh,

One box right here.
of drugs Fighting Fire got personal for the St. Cloud, Minn., Fire
how hard could Department in October when flames engulfed one of the
it be to find a lost box department’s own fire stations. There was one casualty:
of drugs? Particularly one of the department’s fire trucks. The blaze broke out at
when said box has the Station 3 sometime before 6 a.m.
word “METH” written on Oct. 29, destroying one fire
on the top of it. Officials truck and causing some smoke
in Teton County, Wyo., are hoping it’s not too hard, damage to the building, according
according to the Associated Press. On Oct. 27, a deputy to local television news station
lost a stash used to train police dogs. Teton County WJON. Indeed, it appears that the
sheriff’s Sgt. Lloyd Funk said the deputy left the box fire broke out in one of the trucks
on a bumper after a training exercise and accidentally inside the garage bay. Fire officials
drove off with the drugs perched on the vehicle. The say that, alerted by the station’s
box contained nearly an ounce of methamphetamine. fire alarms, all of the firefighters
Sheriff Jim Whalen said that his office is taking action to inside the building escaped
make sure the mistake isn’t repeated. unharmed.
Oh, rats!
Finding rats living in an abandoned house is not surprising, but a rodent
infestation in a Pulaski Township, Pa., home shocked even experienced code
enforcement officers. In fact, at one point the rats were one foot deep, according to
the Beaver County Times.
The condition of the house has been a problem for more than a year (the owner
had moved out in August), but township officials were not notified until Nov. 5,
when neighbors reported the rats began coming out of the house, local code
enforcer John Clay said. Clay described the condition of the home as “unbelievably
disturbing,” and he had to wear a hazardous-materials suit when he entered the
house because it was filled with dog and rat feces, as well as the rodents. Food left
on the floor for dogs had attracted the rats. “I’ve been in this business for over 21
years, and I have never seen anything like this,” he said.

The sound of belts tightening
Republicans retook the House and gained control of several state legislatures and governorships in November’s mid-
term election. During the campaign, many conservative candidates ran on a platform of reducing government spending
and reversing some decisions made under the Democrats, such as health care reform.
American City & County asked the readers of its weekly e-mail newsletter what effect the political shift would have on
federal and state legislation that affects cities and counties. Below are some of the responses.
“Congress and the president should get to the job of of economists and the [Congressional Budget Office]
working together and doing the peoples’ business, [not believe that tax breaks for wealthy, corporate filers have
posturing]. Get the deficit reduction plan going, reign substantially less of a stimulative effect on job creation
in military spending, focus on jobs and real economic than direct investments by government. Public works
recovery, even if it’s a somewhat jobless one, and get projects are much needed and have a multiplier effect on
national health care reform ironed out and moving the general economy.”
forward. Partisan politics is what the voters most assuredly — Bill Skelton, public information coordinator, Polk County,
do not want in 2011/12. Real problems must be addressed Fla., Transportation Division
and long-term solutions put in motion in as nonpartisan a
manner as Washington can muster.” “[First,] the federal government will continue to ‘trickle
— Jay Gsell, county manager, Genesee County, N.Y. down’ the costs of various mandated programs to the
states, and therefore, counties and towns. [Second,] the
“Given Republicans’ propensity for trickle-down impact of the ‘Tea Party philosophy’ may well ‘trickle
economics, [the election] will mean more tax breaks for down’ to the local and county levels, with citizens finally
big corporations and the wealthy. This will mean less demanding elected officials really [reduce spending,]
revenue for governments and more regressive taxation particularly government employees’ salaries and benefits.”
of the poor and middle class in a time when they need — Gilbert Chapman, former Richmond, Vt., selectman,
government services the most. A broad consensus York, Pa.
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issues trends
On Sept. 20, 2011, EPA will

announce the winners of the
EPA launches Green Green Power Community

Challenge. One community will
Power Community
be recognized for using the
most green power over the year,
and one will be recognized for
Challenge using the highest percentage of

green power in its total electric
use.
Yearlong initiative seeks to expand
alternative energy use No. 1 spot among other participants for total
kilowatt hours of annual green power use.
Approximately 7 percent of residences and
O
n Sept. 20, the U.S. businesses purchase green power from the
Environmental Protection city-owned utility, Silicon Valley Power (SVP).
Agency (EPA) kicked off “Being the No. 1 green power city shows the
its yearlong Green Power world that American companies can have
Community Challenge renewable power at a highly competitive cost,”
for cities, towns, villages says Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan. “It’s a
and Native American tribes that are part winning economic and environmental formula
of EPA’s Green Power Partnership (GPP). for everyone in the city.”
The participants are vying to increase their SVP customers can either purchase 100
community’s use of energy from alternative percent renewable energy for a penny and
sources, such as wind or solar power systems, a half extra per kilowatt hour or a blend of
by the greatest percentage. renewable energy credits that meet their needs,
GPP has two goals for the challenge, says says Deputy City Manager Carol McCarthy.
GPP Director Blaine Collison. The first is to “[Our] corporate customers are willing to pay a
add new communities to the GPP roster, and small premium on their electric consumption
the second is to double the total aggregate to achieve this goal,” McCarthy says. “The
amount of green power they use, he says. average [participant] will prevent 7,310 pounds
Communities can join the challenge at any of carbon dioxide and harmful particulates
time. [from entering] the atmosphere each year.”
A Green Power Community since March — Annie Gentile is a Vernon, Conn.-based
2008, Santa Clara, Calif., currently holds the freelance writer.

Water, water everywhere
The Centreville, Va.-based Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority (UOSA) has
contracted with Woodbridge, Va.-based Fru-Con Construction to expand the Winters
Branch Pump Station.
Fru-Con will construct
new facilities to more than
double the capacity of
the Winters Branch facility
from 7.2 million gallons a
day (MGD) to 17.5 MGD. In
addition to refurbishing
the existing pump station,
Fru-Con will build a new
submersible pump station;
a new gravity sewer; a new
emergency generator and
surge tank building; a new
flow meter and valve vault; and new odor control facilities. It also will run 10,000 feet
of new 24-inch force main.
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati has contracted with

Overland Park, Kan.-based Black & Veatch to design a 1.2-mile tunnel system, pump
station and high-rate water treatment facility.
Plugged in
Etc.
Wildwood, Mo., has contracted with
St. Louis-based Oates Associates to
Annapolis, Md., has entered into an agreement with Dallas-based
Tyler Technologies for computer software, service and maintenance.
Warren County, N.J., has purchased records sharing software from

Pottstown, Pa.-based CODY Systems.
help prepare a conceptual plan for a
future park. National City, Calif., has purchased community development
software from Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based GovPartner.
Hillsboro, Ore., has contracted with Dubuque, Iowa-based Cartegraph

to implement the city’s enterprise asset management system.
SAFE AT
HOME GETTING THERE
The Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department
The Maryland Department of Transportation has
has purchased mobile computers from
contracted with Rockville, Md.-based Telvent to operate a
Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co.
“511” travelers information system.
Vermont has contracted with Melbourne,
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has
Fla.-based Harris Corp. to deploy a
purchased a video surveillance system for its fleet from
statewide public safety radio system for first
Woodinville, Wash.-based Apollo Video Technology.
responders.

issues trends
The U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement’s (ICE)
Secure Communities system
compares the fingerprints
submitted by local police
departments to homeland
security immigration records
to determine suspects’
immigration status. Then, ICE
agents decide if a suspect
should be deported based
on that status, the severity of
the crime he or she has been
charged with, and his or her
criminal history.
Locals cannot opt out of

ICE fingerprint program
Some officials concerned with cost of complying
B
y 2013, every police county could opt out of Secure Communities
jurisdiction in the country because of concerns that it was hindering
is required to be part of the police department’s communication
the U.S. Immigration and with immigrants who were fearful of being
Customs Enforcement’s reported to ICE. “ICE stated clearly that
(ICE) Secure Communities local communities [in which the Secure
program, through which the fingerprints of Communities system is already in place] do not
suspects booked into local jails will be sent to have the option of withholding information
federal authorities to check their immigration from the program,” Donnelley said in her
status for possible deportation. Some local response to the board.
governments have expressed concern about Along with concerns like those held by
the program’s potential extra costs and Arlington County officials, ICE does not
negative effects on police work in immigrant reimburse police departments that hold
communities, but they will not have a choice to prisoners until the agency can take them into
opt out of the initiative. custody, says Michele Waslin, spokesperson
ICE, part of the Department of Homeland for the Washington-based Immigration
Security (DHS), launched Secure Policy Center, which has been monitoring
Communities in 2008, and it already has been complaints about Secure Communities from
activated in approximately 680 locations in local governments and others. “The local
33 states, according to ICE. The program has jurisdiction doesn’t have to hold that person
been active in Arlington County, Va., for the at all because a detainer is a request, but often
past seven months. But, in September, the they do hold that person for an additional 48
county’s board of supervisors asked County hours,” Waslin says.
Manager Barbara Donnellan to see if the — Ed Brock

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issues trends
Headlamp
restoration costs for
public fleets*
• Headlamp restoration kit: $25
to $30 retail
• Time to restore headlamp
lens with kit: 15 to 45
minutes, depending on the
condition and size of the
lamp or light bar
• Equipment needed: cordless
or electric drill
• One replacement headlamp
on a 2008 Ford Crown
Victoria Police Interceptor:
$102, manufacturer’s
suggested retail price
Fleet managers • One new police or

emergency vehicle light bar:
$1,200 before installation
keep headlamps clear •

costs
Restoration of lenses on a
on vehicles full-size light bar: $90

* Price data provided by
headlamp restoration experts
Dull lights impede safety of police cruisers
and other public cars
G
overnment vehicles with feels safer because “motorists can now see
Above, restored polycarbonate headlight when my emergency lights are on.” The first
emergency lights are lenses clouded from restoration took three hours because of the
shown on the right, and oxidation can be dangerous heavy amount of oxidation on the light bar.
oxidized lenses on the — especially those used Eaves regularly checks his cruiser’s headlights
left. by emergency responders. and light bar as part of a periodic maintenance
During night hours or inclement weather, program, and he spends a half hour each
a clouded lens produces less than half the month doing preventive maintenance.
amount of light as a new or restored lens, Dallas’ fleet maintenance crews use a variety
and can be like “shining a flashlight through of approaches to combat headlamp oxidation,
a paper bag,” says Bruce Altman, owner of says Maintenance Supervisor Darryl Davis.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based ABC Automotive Fleet mechanics do a preventive maintenance
Services. “Cloudy, hazy headlights reduce check on squad car lenses and light bars every
night-driving visibility by an average of 70 30 days, and if lenses are dull, they apply a
percent by reflecting the light back inside the headlamp restoration solution to the light bar
lenses,” Altman says. lens and spend 15 to 20 minutes buffing it out
Police cruiser light bars are not exempt to make the lamp bright again. If headlamps
from haze and reduced visibility, says Officer are beyond restoration, the division will replace
Richard Eaves of the Smithville, Texas, Police them with fixtures removed from retired
Department, which serves a population of vehicles in the division’s salvage yard, or it will
4,540 people and has 12 patrol cars. “Ours is buy new headlamp assemblies.
a very small police force with a very limited Properly working headlamps and light bars
budget. Our emergency lights on some of our are key safety equipment on police vehicles,
vehicles are badly oxidized and hard to see — Davis says. “When a cruiser pulls over a
especially during the daylight hours,” Eaves motorist, you want all the lights that you can
says. have out there, because you want motorists and
After using one of the widely available pedestrians to be able to see you,” he says.
restoration kits that cost $25, Eaves said he — Michael Keating

SNAPSHOT: Stephen Pyles, Green River, Wyo.,
public information coordinator, took this
photo of the “Maestro” sculpture in the city’s
Expedition Island Park. “Maestro” is a bronze
sculpture of a pelican by Colorado-based
artist Scott Shaffer that was commissioned
by the Green River Arts Council and unveiled
in August at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at
Expedition Island. Shaffer, a Colorado native,
attempts to portray his subjects, usually birds
or other animals, in the most realistic fashion
possible so that nothing detracts from their
inherent beauty, according to the city’s press
release on “Maestro.”
Snapshot showcases the best of architecture,

landscapes, people and history of American
cities and counties. Entries must be 5 X 7 inches,
300 dpi and sent via e-mail to edward.brock@
penton.com. Weekly snapshots appear on the
American City & County Web site and are posted
on Fridays. Each month, one photograph is
selected to appear in the magazine.
Local Government News

On the Go
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feature stories, commentary and analysis
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articles are available offline.
Coming soon: the new American City & County Mobile App!
Visit www.AmericanCityandCounty.com/mobile
today and sign up to receive notification as soon as the
mobile app is ready for download.

America’s
Crown
Communities
2010
Communities pull together to protect lives,
property and history
T
he six winners of American City & County’s 2010 annual
excellence awards, described on the following pages, exhibit
the qualities that build strong communities: cooperation,
creativity and leadership. In some of the winning projects,
necessity was the mother of invention, and in others,
foresight and perseverance came together in the right
formula to achieve success. Although the winning projects are in specific
locations, the ideas that contributed to their successful completion could be
practiced anywhere.
The winners are:

• The Coral Gables Museum Project — Coral Gables, Fla.
• Washington Park Stormwater Improvement Project — Downers Grove, Ill.
• 56th Avenue Public Safety Training and Maintenance Facility —
Hollywood, Fla.
• Public Works Operations and Vehicle Storage Buildings —
Pinellas County, Fla.
• Lakefront Park — Round Lake Beach, Ill.
• Heart Safe Sandy Springs — Sandy Springs, Ga.
By Nancy Jackson
America’s
Crown Communities
Coral Gables, Fla.

The Coral Gables Museum
F
or more than a decade, Coral Gables, based, nonprofit organization specifically created
Fla., officials have discussed the idea to operate the museum,” says Coral Gables Mayor
of integrating a city museum into the Don Slesnick. “Of the total cost of $5.9 million,
historic 1939 police and fire station. we succeeded in raising $2.5 million in private
Built by the Depression-era Works donations, enabling us to complete the restoration of
Progress Administration and one of the old police and fire station, the erection of a new
the most elegant and historically significant buildings gallery for major exhibits and the construction of a
in the city, the station had undergone numerous formal piazza for outdoor social functions.”
historically inconsistent updates and suffered years of The Coral Gables Museum opened in October
disrepair. A major renovation was required to restore in the city’s growing cultural district. “The people
the building’s historic character and to bring the who come behind us will have an opportunity
structure up to current codes. to look back at what Coral Gables was all about,”
In 2003, the nonprofit Coral Gables Museum says Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers. “This
Corp. was formed to direct and operate the Coral museum will preserve our rich history.”
Gables Museum in cooperation with the city. The
two entities formed a public-private partnership that
would restore the historic building, design and build
a companion structure, and operate the museum.
After a new, 3,000-square-foot gallery space and
5,000-square-foot public plaza were designed, the
city and the Museum Corp. agreed that Coral Gables
would be responsible for restoring and rehabilitating
the original structure, and the Museum Corp. would
fund the new construction through a combination of
grants, private donations and a county bond issue.
“This project is a unique arrangement between
the city government as owner and landlord of a
historically significant building and a community-

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America’s
Crown Communities
Downers Grove, Ill.
Washington Park Stormwater
Improvement Project
I
n response to a damaging 2006 storm that
produced severe flooding throughout the
city, Downers Grove, Ill., commissioned
and adopted a comprehensive Watershed
Infrastructure Improvement Plan. The plan
identified high-risk areas for drainage and
flooding, and recommended specific solutions for
each problem area. Sixteen high-priority areas were
identified, where flooding would result in immediate
danger to public health and safety, or complete loss
of property value, structural damage and significant
basement flooding. The plan recommended that the
16 projects be completed within three years.
The major challenge to meet the goals of the
plan was locating enough open space within the
community for detaining stormwater, while keeping
the total cost of all the projects within the budget
of a $25 million bond issuance, says Public Works
Director Naneil Newlon. “To meet this challenge,
Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Park District
became partners through an intergovernmental
agreement, where the park district provided
property and the village acted as the lead agency,
providing the funding for stormwater as well as park
improvements.”
As a result of the partnership, Downers Grove’s
Washington Park became the first major stormwater
improvement project under the new plan, providing
the area with significant flood relief while creating
a renovated park to become the focal point of the
neighborhood. New stormwater basins installed at
Washington Park will detain a substantial amount
of runoff from the upstream area in very intense but
infrequent rains and significantly reduce flooding
in the area, Newlon says. The renovated park
includes two soccer fields, a softball field, terraced
and bleacher seating, a plaza with fountain, two
playgrounds, ornamental fences, a gazebo and a
horseshoe pit. As a result of sharing land with the
park district, the village estimates a savings of $5
million.
“This project is very important to the community
because it provides critical stormwater detention,
creates community gathering and active recreation
amenities, and saves significant cost by creating a
partnership of the two land uses,” Newlon says.

America’s
Crown Communities
Hollywood, Fla. stocked with supplies all

at one location rather than
56th Avenue Public Safety having to go all over the
Training and Maintenance city like they used to,” says
Bob Wertz, senior project
Facility manager. “And, firefighters from neighboring
communities have also begun using our new center
S
ince 2004, Hollywood, Fla., has used as a training site. It’s turning into a regional facility
a general obligation bond to bring because it’s one of the best in the area.”
its fire and rescue department up to In addition to training and maintenance facilities
date through the construction of two for fire and rescue squads, the 56th Avenue
new fire stations and the purchase campus also includes a one-acre area for the police
of another. The new stations offer department’s SWAT team and K-9 unit training. The
technological capabilities that were not possible with area features a 12-obstacle course for SWAT and a
the older stations. But the crowning jewel of them 15-obstacle course for K-9, and is suitable for daytime
all is the recently completed 56th Avenue Public and nighttime training.
Safety and Maintenance Facility, which makes use
of 9.7 acres of land that was formerly restricted for
development.
Today, the area houses an 11,000-square-foot
training center and a 15,000-square-foot, eight-
bay maintenance garage and warehouse designed
specifically for fire and rescue equipment and
supplies. A four-story prefabricated metal training
tower with burn props allowing for hundreds of
different training scenarios is another feature of the
project. With the new facility, Hollywood firefighters
can pursue the ongoing training necessary to
maintain the department’s Insurance Office Class
1 rating, which allows residents to take advantage
of reduced home insurance rates. And, the facility
enables firefighters to take care of training, vehicle
maintenance and supply-stocking all in one stop.
“When firefighters come in for training, they
can get their vehicles repaired, maintained and

America’s
Crown Communities
Pinellas County, Fla. storm. Together, the two buildings offer a secure,
central base of operations for first responders, as well
Public Works Operations and as shelter for the equipment, vehicles and materials
necessary to clean roadways and provide direction
Vehicle Storage Buildings and communication for medical, emergency and law
enforcement teams following a hurricane.
A
fter two devastating hurricane The county worked with a local design-build
seasons in 2004 and 2005, which team, and the project was completed $4 million
resulted in more than $170 billion under budget and one month ahead of schedule. The
in damage, leaders in Pinellas operations building includes men’s and women’s
County, Fla., realized their dormitories that sleep up to 50 first responders and
emergency response efforts needed a commercial kitchen that is equipped to serve 300
improvement. The newly completed Public Works meals per day. The emergency operations center
Operations Building and Vehicle Storage Building is equipped to become the center of operations
are designed to withstand a category 5 hurricane, and for the public works department in a post-storm
serve as the Public Works Emergency Operations environment. The electrical and mechanical systems
Center and shelter for first responders during a provide for seven days of sustainability in the case of a
major catastrophe.
The vehicle storage building provides for
warehouse and storage, and it houses county vehicles
during normal operations. It also includes additional
power, data and phone drops and a manual transfer
switch for a generator that can be moved throughout
the county to support field staff after a storm.
“This project is very important for us to be
prepared for a major storm event and to maintain
our ability to lead recovery efforts,” says Pete Yauch,
director of public works and transportation for
Pinellas County. “In the event of a storm, this facility
has the provisions to house many agencies working
together.”

© Siemens AG, 2010. All Rights Reserved.
How can our community become

an example for the nation?
The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards recognize the towns

and cities that provide a higher quality of life for all who live there.
Every year, in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center, we celebrate the
small, midsize and large communities that best balance their economic, social and environmental goals. This year,
at an event in Philadelphia, we will honor three winners whose achievements in sustainability serve as national
examples. So while their efforts may directly benefit only their communities, the effects will be felt far beyond.
To enter, please visit usa.siemens.com/sustainability
siemens.com/answers
America’s
Crown Communities
Round Lake Beach, Ill.

Lakefront Park
R
ound Lake Beach, Ill., officials
visualized one solution that
would solve a myriad of problems
around Round Lake. The village
faced challenges, including land
acquisition, transportation and
pedestrian access, flood protection, water quality
enhancement and park land development. To address
all of those issues in one fell swoop, the government including Round Lake, [which is] a natural lake
decided to acquire land around the lake and develop bordering the park,” says David Kilbane, village
Lakefront Park. administrator.
“The lakefront was an important project for Strategic plans for the park included expanding
the village because it allowed [us] to accomplish a existing lakefront facilities and making lakefront
multitude of projects spanning from the expansion access more usable. Planners also wanted to
of open space, increased recreation opportunities redevelop a low-lying residential area that was prone
and amenities, flood protection, and conservation, to flooding, unsuitable for building houses, and
protection and enhancement of natural areas, conducive to drugs and crime because of its seclusion.
To satisfy both needs, the village acquired 55 parcels
of vacant and residential property bordering Round
Lake. The work included dredging two channels to
make the water deep enough for fishing and boating;
constructing a playground; building the park’s nature
trails, fishing piers and shelter; paving sidewalks and
reconstructing off-site access roads.
Once unsuitable as a residential area, Lakefront
Park is now a source of community pride and an
asset to the village. Residents can access two-and-
a-half acres of wetlands created in tandem with a
meadowland. At the same time, development of the
park eliminated flood-prone structures from the flood
plain, increased stormwater capacity to help alleviate
flooding, and removed a blighted area, replacing it
with open space that the entire community can enjoy.

America’s
Crown Communities
Sandy Springs, Ga. “heart safe” program. Using the latest medical
technology, the pilot program trains emergency
Heart Safe Sandy Springs medical technicians to use hypothermia treatment
for cardiac arrest victims before they arrive at the
S
ince the Atlanta suburb of Sandy hospital. The treatment helps prevent the loss of
Springs was incorporated in 2005, neurological function because of cardiac arrest, and
public safety and health have been the department has saved three lives with it so far.
a major focus of city government, “Our city council and mayor put great emphasis
says Fire Chief Jack McElfish. So, on emergency medical services and doing all we can
the “Heart Safe Sandy Springs” to keep our citizens and visitors safe,” McElfish says.
program launched by the fire department in 2006 “We want to be as prepared as we can and save as
was a natural priority for the city. Through the Heart many lives as possible. And this program helps make
Safe program, the Sandy Springs Fire & Rescue us a safer community.”
Department places automated external defibrillators
(AEDs) throughout the city and trains residents
on how to use AEDs and CPR. Since 2007, the
department has trained more than 4,500 residents in
AED and CPR use and placed more than 150 AEDs
throughout the city.
In 2009, bystander CPR was performed in 53
percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest events in
Sandy Springs, compared with the national average
of 25 percent. Also in 2009, the survival rate from
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was 8.8 percent, well
above the baseline of less than 1 percent in 2006.
Since launching the program, the fire and rescue
department has saved 14 lives with AEDs and CPR.
Partnering with Rural Metro Ambulance and
St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta, Sandy Springs
Fire and Rescue recently launched an additional

Municipal Leader
of the Year
Working on
a dream
Mayor Buddy Dyer is marshaling the forces to transform
Orlando, Fla., into more than a tourist destination
THE TEAM BUILDER
W
hen Orlando, Fla., Mayor Buddy
Dyer was still at the University The list of Orlando’s recent accomplishments under Dyer’s
of Florida law school, he was leadership is impressive and encompassing:
chosen as head of the law • Launched SunRail, Orlando’s first commuter rail
review and immediately faced system, and high-speed rail, from Orlando to Tampa;
a problem: it was years behind • Expanded the emerging 7,000-acre Medical City
schedule. Yet, by the time he completed his term as editor, research campus, with the opening of Sanford Burnham
the publication was back on track. Medical Research Institute;
Later, when the student association was locked in a • Opened the city-owned Amway Center, the home of
bitter dispute and the opposing sides barely spoke to each the Orlando Magic professional basketball team, as the
other, “the only thing anyone could agree on was that first of three new venues that will be the centerpiece of
Buddy Dyer was the right person to mediate the dispute,” downtown Orlando’s revitalization;
recalls Mayanne Downs, Dyer’s law school classmate and • Received initial funding for the city’s Creative Village
current Orlando city attorney. project, an effort to transform a parcel of the city’s inner
Since 2003, Orlando voters have considered Dyer
the right person to lead the Central Florida city, and
he has delivered with impressive results, from the
building of major arenas and development clusters to the
groundbreaking of long-sought commuter and high-speed
railways. And, the same ability to focus on results and
bring opposing sides together is cited as the signature
of his success. “He’s the real deal,” says Jacob Stuart,
president of the Central Florida Partnership, a local
business-civic advocacy group. “He’s praised because he
deserves it.”
As recognition of his performance since his election
in 2003 and his significant achievements in the past year,
American City & County has chosen John Hugh “Buddy” Dyer, Gov. Charlie Crist and other officials celebrate the creation
Dyer Jr. as the 2010 Municipal Leader of the Year. of SunRail, Central Florida’s first commuter rail system.

core into a neighborhood for the region’s growing digital Commission and engaged area county governments,
media industry; businesses and civic organizations in a collaborative,
• Saw the steepest decline in crime in city history by regional approach with the city. Over three years of
maintaining investment in police and fire protection amid meetings, the region united behind the project and a
budget cuts. secure local funding source, but the state legislature
“He’s a great champion of economic development in balked in 2008 and again in 2009.
Orlando,” adds Alex Martins, president of the Orlando In a fortuitous turn of events, the federal government
Magic. “The mayor’s vision is to improve the quality of life was pushing high-speed rail as part of its economic
of our citizens.” stimulus program and saw the Orlando-Tampa corridor as
In reflecting on the qualities that have led to Dyer’s a “jumping off point” for an eventual nationwide high-
success, civic leaders and friends point to “the Dyer speed rail network. The impetus from the federal project
method,” which is his ability to bring together diverse helped push SunRail though the state legislature during
groups representing a variety of interests to forge a special session. High Speed Rail is scheduled to open in
coalitions that can produce results and build a team 2015.
approach that points to the accomplishment of others. “This was a three-year journey,” Stuart says. “No one
“He’s a consensus builder by nature,” says Noranne was in charge. It had the support of cities down the
Downs, regional secretary for the Florida Department of route but not from areas where it didn’t run. Mayor Dyer
Transportation, who has worked closely with Dyer. “He’s understood that you don’t have to live on the rail line to
fair to everybody.” feel the impact. He was able to help the area stay focused
Many refer to the development of the SunRail project and move forward.”
as a prime example of how Dyer’s vision and coalition Noranne Downs, with the state DOT, says the mayor
building overcame obstacles to push through a project worked hard to keep the project as a regional priority.
with critical regional significance that had been stymied “Mayor Dyer called anybody and everybody to make
for a quarter-century by partisan and geographic it happen,” she says. “It took extraordinary effort and
differences. The $1.2 billion project will run north to leadership.”
south along a 61.5 mile route through downtown Orlando She also was impressed that Dyer was able to stay
and is scheduled to open in 2013. focused despite the setbacks at the state level, which could
Because of his commitment to the project, Dyer easily have derailed the project. “He would say, ‘We’re not
became the chair of the Central Florida Commuter Rail going to get negative. We have to stay positive and keep

going,’” she recalls. “He was able to convince the other
leaders that they came close to success by sticking together
and that they would succeed by sticking together.”
Building results
Another achievement cited by the mayor’s boosters is
his ability to promote a vision of Orlando that includes a
revitalized downtown and an economy that is diversified
beyond its traditional role as a tourist destination. Several
recent initiatives have brought the city of 250,000 residents
closer to fulfilling that promise.
The just-opened $380 million Amway Center is the Above, Dyer and members of the Orlando Fire Department
centerpiece for a collective $1 billion “Community Venues” announce the department’s attainment of an ISO Rating of “1.”
project that is the largest public works project in Central Right, Dyer and members of the Orlando Police Department
Florida history. In addition to the basketball and events demonstrate a crisis response robot, which is used primarily to
area, the project is slated to place a new performing arts detect and dispose of potentially dangerous, explosive materials.
center and a refurbished Citrus Bowl in the middle of
downtown. The Amway Center construction awarded about opportunity came his way when Orlando’s incumbent
one-third of its contracts to local minority and women- mayor took a new state position. After a contentious
owned businesses at a time when the area was hit by the election, Dyer won the seat, and a year later, was re-elected
national recession. “This was a great collaboration and with a platform of recreating the downtown.
community partnership,” Martins says. “Mayor Dyer has Many attribute Dyer’s success to his unusual combination
placed a lot of focus on the revitalization of downtown. of skills. Born in Central Florida, he graduated from Brown
He understands that to be a great city, you have to have a University with a degree in civil engineering before earning
vibrant downtown.” his law degree from the University of Florida.
Another of Dyer’s major goals has been to diversify the Now 52, Dyer believes that both professional degrees
economy beyond tourism by emphasizing new facilities for trained him to structure a project and develop a logical
medical research and encouraging additional investments path to completing it. He also attributes his management
by digital media companies. Last year, the Sanford style to lessons learned during his years in the state Senate.
Burnham Medical Research Institute joined the University “You get things done by building consensus,” he says,
of Central Florida Medical School to form Medical City. The noting that politics has since become more partisan. “I
area is home to a variety of medical research companies, was the Democratic leader, but very few things are passed
universities and clinical treatment facilities, including the on a partisan basis. I think that experience has been really
Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando Veterans Affairs helpful on a personal level.”
hospital and University of Florida Research Center. He came into the mayor’s office without any local
“Medical City is an exciting transformation, global in government experience and learned on the job. He found
nature,” Stuart says. “It’s a diversification of the economy that the same philosophy that worked in the highly political
and an effort to attract the creative class. It is not something statehouse in Tallahassee could be applied in Orlando City
that would happen without Mayor Dyer and without a Hall, which is nonpartisan. “You set a vision and follow a
coalition.” path,” he says. “There are always obstacles to overcome that
Dyer also is using the clustering approach in the you don’t foresee. You try to plan for impediments and take
development of Creative Village as a center for a “live, care of them and resolve them as they come along.”
work, play” neighborhood dedicated to the digital media The primary goal from the first day of his administration
industry. The area already serves as the headquarters for the has been convincing the Central Florida region that it
University of Central Florida’s School of Emerging Media needed a “great downtown” in Orlando. “I was building off
and the House of Moves, a motion capture studio. the foundation that the former administration laid here,” he
recalls. “It was talked about and wished for for a long time. I
“What he says Will get done, Will tried to build a consensus to make it happen.”
get done.” Part of his plan, he says, was to “change the mindset”
Stuart and others believe that Dyer’s special qualities as of the Orlando community, so that people have begun to
mayor were honed through his previous 10 years in the state believe that the community ranks among the world’s best
Senate, including a stint as minority leader. “He had a very cities. “Orlando has its brand established on one area:
successful run in the state Senate,” recalls Mayanne Downs, tourism,” he says. “I don’t think everyone understands what
his longtime friend and colleague. “He did a lot for his else Orlando is. We’re trying to create the type of place
constituents and was widely respected.” where kids growing up in Orlando will not want to move
Dyer gave up his seat to run for state attorney general, away, but want to stay and work here.”
losing to Charlie Crist, who went on to become governor. Though he is a Democrat, and the political environment
Though Downs says that Dyer was very disappointed, today has shifted very strongly to the right, Dyer says that

he has been able to gain the support
of Republicans and the business
community behind his major capital InnovatIon | FunctIonalIty | DepenDabIlIty
initiatives by couching his program
in terms of economic development.
“We want to continue to think big,” he
says. “Orlando isn’t competing with
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While pursuing significant capital
improvements, he also has focused
on improving public safety in the city.
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The new public square
New York, Boston and Miami-Dade County describe how
they are engaging residents through social media
T
he new public square Globally, the term to describe beginning to see innovative mobile
does not have office mobile applications is m-government. applications that focus on public safety,
hours, operates 24 Mobile device penetration has grown transportation, information services,
hours a day and is from 5 percent globally in 1998 to 55 interactive mapping, interactive
accessible as long percent 2008. It is predicted that by data and much more. Many new
as a broadband 2018 the penetration rate will be as applications have been developed
connection is available. Over the high as 96 percent. in-house; others have been built as
last several years, there has been an Local governments have been quick public-private partnerships, and
explosive, but evolutionary, growth in to innovate and provide new and some are developed solely by private
e-government applications. With more engaging mobile applications. Unlike enterprise.
residents online, what had to be done early e-government applications, The new frontier will focus on
in person a few years ago is now being mostly found on municipal websites, democratic principles in terms of how
done online. many mobile applications have been we communicate with elected leaders,
City and county governments created to fit just about any size device who will be using applications and
consistently have led the way with and provide an array of services. For websites of their own. No one app or
e-government services. With the example, because most new phones website — PC based or mobile — can
advent of social networking, virtual have built-in geo-tracking chips, do all things for all people. Residents
destinations such as YouTube, residents can send in pictures of will need to become better navigators
Facebook and Twitter, local problems like potholes, and the local and innovators themselves to be heard
governments have found clever ways to government can identify the owner’s through the new and emerging social
use the new social media by converting name and address of the mobile device and civic media channels.
such popular services to civic media. along with the exact time and location — Alan Shark, executive
However, something else began to of the sender. director of the Public
grow as well — the popularity of smart The new virtual public square is Technology Institute,
phones. public works in progress. We are just Washington
applications, NYC opened more than into the same
New York’s 170 datasets in 2009. The contest

sparked innovation and created new
stream used
for service
service apps to explore New York and interact

with city government. Big Apps was
requests
reported
delivery a low-cost way to provide data and

let the marketplace decide what to
through the
call center.
evolution do with it and how to distribute it.

Ultimately, the city better understood
how constituents access and use data.
The
evolution
of service
By Joseph Morrisroe, Micro-blogging: Originally intended delivery
executive director NYC311, as a companion to the launch of continues,
Office of the Mayor 311Online, the NYC Twitter presence with
(311NYC@twitter.com) evolved into a enhancements
I
n response to changing viable info-push to more than 7,500 for new channels and exploration
customer needs, the New Yorkers. Designed and built of crowd-sourcing, auto-text and
advent of new technology by a call center representative and interactive mapping under way. From
and increasing financial staff analyst, the city’s Twitter effort initial call handling for non-emergency
pressures, NYC311 has proved to be a low-cost and easy-access government services, to an ambitious
evolved over the past few channel that has enabled greater expansion fulfilling on the promise of
years from a call center to a multi- communication and also provided “your city, your needs, your number,”
access, multi-channel source for NYC311 with a new customer listening NYC311 has changed government
information. The evolution remains post. Reviewing, evaluating and service delivery.
grounded in 311’s core mission to responding to tweets has changed
provide quick and easy access with the interaction with customers while
the highest possible customer service,
and is part of a larger strategy driven
making services more accessible.
Inviting the public to correspond: Miami-
by customer needs and financial
imperatives: migrating from a “one-
In the spirit of opening a new public
square, New York introduced “The Dade’s
to-one” mode of service delivery to a
“one-to-many” information platform
311,” a blog open to employees and
customers. Using free technology customer
spanning multiple channels in the
way the public wants to consume it.
(Wordpress), the blog allows 311
employees to share information in service
The execution of that strategy is under
way and has yielded an expansion
of service delivery from exclusively
a relaxed and informal manner,
engaging customer comments,
critiques and communication.
outlets
phone-channel to Internet, social Pushing information: The city By Judi Zito, director, Miami-
media, apps and more. The following launched “NotifyNYC,” a registration- Dade County, Government
is a brief introduction of the various and-notification process that Information Center
communication modes NYC311 uses distributes information using text,
F
and the path taken to deploy them. email or voice messages for general or the foreseeable
311 Online: Moving the entire citywide information, as well as future, government’s
catalogue of information available geographic-specific updates. NYC311 customers will
to call-center reps to the Internet will expand the service for potential interact with us
allows customers to access 311 topics such as parking, recycling in person, mail,
anytime and anywhere. Designed, collections, and notification of school on the phone and
developed and implemented through a and government office closure. online. Consequently, as part of the
combination of internal city resources Apps: The NYC311 iPhone app was Miami-Dade County’s customer
and contracted vendors for specialty designed and developed internally service strategy, the county has made
functions, 311 Online was built and by the Department of Information vast improvements to those service
deployed in less than one year, and Technology and Telecommunications channels, particularly for phone and
provides a foundation for further in 2009. Using the iPhone app, online interactions by implementing
expansion of Internet offerings, as customers can report graffiti, potholes miamidade.gov in 2001; introducing
well as a destination point for city and other quality-of-life issues quickly the 311 Answer Center in 2005;
government information and services. through a familiar interface. The GPS launching eNet, the employee portal
Opening city data: Through the function on the iPhone simplifies in 2007; and creating web 2.0/social
Big Apps contest, which challenged the entry of address information and networking mobile apps in 2009.
developers to create public saves time while submitting the data Through those innovations, the

county is seeing more customers, both mobile-enable those services requires sources and
external and internal, make the shift to a user-friendly design that works with other
either phone or online interactions. effectively across all mobile devices. applications.
For services that are already Usability is more important for mobile Once
web-enabled, implementing mobile applications, where users have less developed and
apps can be as simple as developing patience with complex interfaces. tested, mobile
a mobile interface to an existing In-house programmers develop apps require a Miami-Dade’s 311Direct
application. Luckily, the majority of the county’s apps. A smartphone app different type app icon
the county’s highly accessed services generally requires a multidisciplinary of deployment
— trip planning, mapping and bulky team — a programmer, a designer (or and promotional effort from standard
trash pickup requests — already usability specialist), and an integration online services. The county coupled
have been brought online through architect, who integrates the app its mobile strategy with its social
the miamidade.gov portal or 311. To with the existing infrastructure, data media efforts and banked on the apps’
inherent virality. Mobile and viral
go hand-in-hand, hence Facebook,
Twitter and the different mobile app
stores and catalogs are the best places
to promote new apps. They are also
the best social spaces to study demand
for other mobile applications and test
concepts for novel features.
Mobile apps continue to test the
county’s agility. Because mobile
apps may start sprouting up from all
divisions of the enterprise, usability,
branding and architecture standards
must be communicated quickly.
The best practices applied for web
applications must be extended to
mobile apps.
Real-time communication with
customers is another challenge.
Because of their interface and flow,
mobile apps enable less structured and
more informal types of interaction,
and organizations may not be
equipped to react quickly. Or, they
may respond with a high level of
formality and discourage dialogue.
Hotline is Key to Being Prepared Mobile technologies are an
When a crisis strikes, who will answer important element of Miami-Dade’s
your call for help? Now is the time to evolving customer service strategy.
prepare for an emergency by building
a network of first responders. TCPN is Moving forward, the county will
a national governmental purchasing respond to the changing patterns
cooperative with competitively
bid, awarded contracts for disaster of its customers. It will build on
restoration & recovery, claim recovery the investments made over the last
& risk services, MRO supplies, roofing
services, HVAC, and modular buildings decade and develop a countywide
all ready to be a part of your hotline to strategy that provides for a systematic
help when a disaster hits. With the peace
of mind of knowing who to call, and set and fact-driven process to select the
contract pricing already in place, you can applications that are best suited for
stay focused on your community during
their time of need. mobile technology. The county will
Start building your hotline network ensure that development efforts are
today! Visit www.TCPN.org driven by usability, uphold the brand
u c all?
® and can be supported by its technology
Who w i ll y o platforms and policies. Finally, the

county will develop outreach strategies
to help move customers to online and
mobile platforms.

projects that dramatically expand interest in blogging or tweeting about
Boston constituent-facing services. The city’s

key project is Citizens Connect, which
neighborhood issues. The app engages
them, helping translate their civic
connects is a free application for iPhones that

enables users to request service, such
interest into civic improvement.
Moreover, the channel gives people
residents as pothole repairs. When a problem is

spotted, the resident launches the app,
a different experience when reporting
an issue. Most residents who see and
with mobile selects the issue, takes a photograph

and presses the submit button. Using
then report a pothole that needs repair
might feel like they are nagging if they
app the iPhone’s built-in GPS and Internet

connection, the app routes the issue
to the appropriate city work queue.
call back 30 seconds later to report
another problem; Citizens Connect
users often report constantly, leaving
By Nigel Jacob, co-chair, In less than a minute, the eyesore the trails of reports of problems located
Mayor’s Office of New Urban resident spotted lands on the to-do throughout the city.
Mechanics, Boston City Hall list of the appropriate employee. The city’s app has led to nearly
When work is completed, the person 8,000 resolved requests, but its most
B
oston Mayor reporting the problem receives a text significant impact has been inside city
Thomas Menino message from the city. Meanwhile, hall. The approach to project design,
institutionalized the the resident can track the progress development and testing — in addition
city’s commitment through a built-in map. to the actual technology — were
to innovation by Although the city has staffed all novel for the city. City arborists
creating its first a 24-hour hotline for constituent and street light electricians are
cabinet-level Chief Information requests for decades and provided exploring mobile app ideas, and the IT
Officer, Bill Oates, and by hiring a online opportunities to do the same department has broadened its focus,
new chief of staff, Mitch Weiss, who for years, the application engages tapping into new technology and the
has made innovation his top priority. a different audience, a group who resurgent spirit of civic engagement to
As a result, Boston has embarked had less interest in calling a hotline create a stronger, more productive and
on a number of new programs and or using online forms, but more beautiful Boston.

acrossamerica EXPLORING PUBLIC SERVICES THROUGH PROJECTS, GEAR, STATISTICS & HISTORY
Photos copyright 2010 Jonathan Hillyer/Atlanta
Shining up
C
oweta County, Ga.’s most iconic symbol, the 106-year-
old Coweta County Courthouse has been rehabilitated
a Southern
to preserve its historic character and its usefulness
for county operations. The $7.5 million project
comprised the selective demolition of non-historic
jewel
building features, exterior restoration and interior
rehabilitation to house the Coweta County Probate Court and the
Coweta County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.
Funded by a special-purpose local-option sales tax approved by
residents, the project was led by the Atlanta Historic Preservation Studio
Courthouse restoration of architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent. The comprehensive project
preserves Georgia landmark included updating the HVAC system, installing a fire suppression
system and an elevator, designing courtroom seating based on historic
photographs of the original seats, and painting the walls historically
accurate colors. Louisville, Ky.-based Steinrock Roofing & Sheet Metal
restored the building’s copper-clad clock tower by removing each piece
of the copper and fabricating thousands of new, hand-cut 20-ounce
copper pieces to replicate the original details. New shoring and wood
Completed in September, the Coweta County, Ga., framing were required to stabilize the clock tower before the new
Courthouse has received a North American Copper copper could be installed. “The tower still leans slightly, but it’s hardly
in Architecture Award from the New York-based noticeable, and then only when the building is approached from the
Copper Development Association. south,” says Eddie Whitlock, Coweta County assistant administrator.

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acrossamerica
testing
texting
Florida tests technology that would
notify cell phone carriers to steer
clear of nearby emergencies
I
n accordance with the Warning, host solution provider St. Charles, Mo-based
Alert and Response Network Cellcast Corp.; and Richardson, Texas-based
(WARN) Act of 2006, the Federal cell carrier MetroPCS, more than 80 CMAS
Communications Commission emergency alerts were successfully delivered
(FCC) established the Commercial to handsets in Pasco and Polk counties in
Mobile Alert System (CMAS), September 2010.
which is designed to allow public officials to The tests proved the CMAS standard and
send urgent messages to wireless device users established a delivery timeline of between 2
within range of a particular cellular antenna or and 10 seconds from the time an alert was sent
wireless transmission system. A complement to the time it was received over the network to
to multi-modal mass notification systems, the mobile devices, according to Jim Johnston,
CMAS technology will allow federal agencies operations coordinator for Pasco County.
to transmit text alerts from the president of the County officials also confirmed that the system
United States and from the National Weather will accept and display the message as outlined
Service (NWS), as well as local emergency in the standard. “The public is becoming
operations centers. After releasing the CMAS increasingly dependent on mobile devices.
architecture and standards in December This provides an efficient and effective way for
2009, the FCC set an implementation deadline us to reach community members — anytime,
of April 2012 for commercial providers that anywhere, when it matters most for protecting
choose to participate. public safety,” Johnston says.
In anticipation of the FCC’s 2012 deadline, Now that the CMAS standard has been
Florida created a Cell Broadcast initiative demonstrated, the state and its service
to test CMAS-compliant cell broadcast providers will recommend modifications to the
technology. Through a public-private standard. In the next phase of Florida’s Cell
partnership with Washington-based mass Broadcast initiative, the state will collaborate
notification provider Blackboard Connect; with additional carriers and handset
Paris, France-based telecommunications manufacturers to move toward implementation
equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent; gateway statewide.
Project: Cell broadcast test for emergency alerts

Jurisdictions: Florida, Pasco and Polk counties
Agencies: Florida Division of Emergency Management, Pasco
County Office of Emergency Management, and Polk County
Emergency Management Division
Vendors: Washington-based Blackboard Connect; Paris, France-
based Alcatel-Lucent; St. Charles, Mo-based Cellcast Corp. and
Richardson, Texas-based MetroPCS
Date: September 2010
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saving Project: Library computer replacement
public
Jurisdiction: Staunton, Va.
Agency: Staunton Public Library
access
Vendors: Redwood City, Calif.-based
Pano Logic, and Palo Alto, Calif.-
based VMware
Library replaces computers to Date completed: November 2009
reduce downtime, simplify Cost: $16,000
maintenance for IT staff
L
ast year, the Staunton, Va., parts was becoming an endless nightmare,”
Public Library began to Plowman says.
experience an increase in Plowman began looking into virtual
foot traffic as the recession desktops as an option for providing public
took hold. As demand for free access computing in the library. He wanted
computing resources rose, to eliminate IT staff trips to the library by
the library’s problem-plagued PCs became a completely centralizing the computing power
serious issue for the city’s IT staff. Only half of in the data center. With funding from the city
the library’s eight PCs were functioning at any and a grant from the Gates Foundation and
given time, and Kurt Plowman, the library’s the Friends of the Staunton Library, Plowman
CTO, found his resources stretched thin trying purchased 15 virtual desktop devices from
to keep them operational. Redwood City, Calif.-based Pano Logic and
The PCs had Windows software, yet they supporting virtualization infrastructure from
were inundated with issues from users hacking Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware, all of which
the computers and downloading various items, cost less than 10 new PCs.
which led to viruses and other major problems. The virtual desktop devices were installed by
The aging computers also were prone to November 2009, shifting all of the computing
hardware failures. “Spending several hours a onto the server, where it is managed from
week fixing software problems and replacing a single interface that IT managers can
access from their desks or from any Pano
Device on the system. The device, called a
zero client because it contains no processor,
operating system, storage, nor any moving
parts, eliminates endpoint management,
failure-prone hardware and potential security
breaches. Yet, library visitors still see a familiar
Windows desktop. “We can now manage the
desktops from our offices and set controls so
that individuals cannot corrupt the settings or
software and spoil the next user’s experience,”
Plowman says. “And with [the] zero clients,
there’s nothing in the library we have to
support.”
The project recently won the city recognition
during the annual Commonwealth of Virginia’s
Innovative Technology Symposium. Staunton
received the Governor’s Technology Award for
Innovation in Local Government.
Small silver virtual desktop devices replaced full-size

PCs in the Staunton Public Library.

Richmond, Calif.,
reopened The Plunge this
summer after a complete
restoration that included
upgrades, such as the
installation of solar
panels on the roof.
modernizing a
landmark pool
City restores historical facility while adding energy-efficient features
R
ichmond, Calif., recently Project: Municipal natatorium
restored its Municipal
Natatorium, turning the restoration
1920s-era facility into a Jurisdiction: Richmond, Calif.
modern, green recreational
building. Known as The Agency: Recreation Department
Plunge, the newly reopened indoor pool Vendors: Berkeley, Calif.-based Sun
features operable windows for ventilation, and
solar panels that provide electricity and heat Light & Power; Richmond, Calif.-
the saline water. based Heliodyne; Berkeley, Calif.-
When it was first built, the natatorium was
a state-of-the-art, two-story building with based Todd Jersey Architecture
an indoor warm water swimming pool, a Date completed: August 2010
fountain, observation balconies, and an open
truss ceiling. More than twice the size of an Cost: $7.5 million
Olympic pool, The Plunge’s pool was so large
that scuba diving and kayaking were taught. front of the building. The team also installed
However, through the years, the city struggled 30 kilowatts of solar panels for electricity, 300
to meet the costs of staffing and maintenance. operable windows, a hyper-efficient boiler and
Most major improvements were deferred, sophisticated pool pumps.
and seismic retrofitting became financially Berkeley, Calif.-based Sun Light & Power
unfeasible. The Plunge closed in 2001. installed 3,500 square feet of solar hot water
A local nonprofit group, Richmond panels from locally based Heliodyne for the
Friends of Recreation, began campaigning pool’s 324,000 gallons of saline water. The
for donations to restore the old facility. The water is disinfected using an ultraviolet system
group and the city combined redevelopment instead of chlorine. Other sustainable features
money, funds from a regional voter measure, include new technology for water conservation,
grants and donations to pay for its $7.5 million a repurposed historic mushroom fountain, and
restoration. a victory garden on one side of the structure for
Berkeley, Calif.-based Todd Jersey growing food for the community.
Architecture developed and implemented Richmond celebrated The Plunge’s
the renovation plan. The project included reopening in August, and the Richmond
restoring the original natatorium structure; Recreation Department resumed classes for
renovating the 10,000-square-foot swimming recreational swimming, lap swimming, and
pool; rebuilding the changing, bath and water fitness, as well as instruction in canoe
shower facilities; and restoring the neoclassical and kayak handling.

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214.7
213.7 municipal cost index
206.9 construction cost index
this month
230.8
229.9 last month
221.4 last year
Percent change by month: 0.4 •year: 4.2
consumer price index*

218.9 this month
218.4 last month
216.4 last year
producer price index*

Percent 186.8 this month
change by 185.1 last month
last year
month: 0.5 175.3
year: 3.8 * The consumer and producer price indexes are published monthly by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics. The PPI figure used is the number for all commodities. The CPI and PPI figures published in this issue are from October
2010. The construction cost index is from November 2010. The municipal cost index incorporates those three indexes.
most recent marketbasket

Percent change from Percent change from
last last last last
Current month year Current month year
Air conditioning equipment 164.8 0.8 0.6 Milled rice 175.6 6.2 -8.1
Asphalt felts, coatings 221.7 -1.0 1.2 Mixed fertilizers 178.9 -0.1 0.7
Ball, roller bearings 229.9 -0.1 2.6 Motors, generators 192.5 0.2 2.8
Cement 190.9 -0.5 -6.2 Natural gas 161.6 2.7 4.9
Coal 190.5 1.0 5.7 Office, store machines 120.8 -0.2 0.1
Communication equipment 105.6 0 -0.1 Paper 186.3 -0.1 5.7
Concrete products 210.5 0 -0.4 Passenger cars 129.2 -3.0 -3.7
Construction machinery 192.1 -0.2 1.2 Plumbing fixtures, brass fittings 232.1 0.3 1.3
Crude petroleum 224.2 8.7 11.4 Plywood 172.2 -1.4 5.1
Diesel fuel (No. 2) 243.9 5.6 20.3 Prepared paint 237.3 0.4 0.5
Electronic computers 29.0 -1.4 -10.8 Pumps, compressors 215.4 -0.1 1.1
Fabricated metal products 201.9 -0.4 2.2 Residential electric power 155.9 -1.1 4.4
Floor coverings 169.8 -0.8 -0.2 Sand, gravel, crushed stone 263.2 -0.5 2.1
Foundry, forge shop products 195.2 1.1 5.3 Sanitary papers, health products 179.4 0 0.1
Gasoline 229.5 9.8 18.1 Sporting, athletic goods 133.5 0.2 2.1
Glass containers 181.1 0.1 1.7 Steel mill products 194.6 1.4 12.0
Gypsum products 205.1 -0.2 0 Switchgear 206.0 0.1 2.1
Hardwood lumber 190.9 -0.2 10.9 Synthetic fibers 108.6 -0.2 -2.9
Heating equipment 221.7 -1.0 1.1 Tires, tubes, tread, etc. 141.1 0.7 6.2
Heavy motor trucks 197.3 -0.3 2.7 Tools, dies, jigs, fixtures 143.4 0.1 0.5
Home heating oil and distillates 221.4 5.1 26.8 Transformers 223.4 0.2 3.9
Internal combustion engines 162.7 0.4 -0.1 Transmission equipment 234.0 0.2 1.7
Iron ore 151.6 1.1 8.0 Truck trailers 182.8 0.7 2.6
Iron and steel scrap 514.8 -7.3 28.2 Wiring devices 212.9 0.8 2.8
For more detailed information about the cost indexes, including a history of the
municipal cost index, formulas and an archive of past cost indexes...
Visit American City & County’s web site at www.americancityandcounty.com

acrossamerica
A 1908 Model Curtiss
June Bug, published in The
American City Sept. 1930
Charles Lindbergh’s plane at the San Francisco

Municipal Airport, July 1928
The Bergen County, N.J., Air Police Unit, July 1929
In our century
As aviation takes off, cities make use of the quick mode of
transportation and secure their spots on the aerial highways
T
he first mention of airplanes in The American City occurred in January 1911,
in which the author of an article titled “The Cities of the Future” proposes that,
“The day is coming when the entire physiognomy of cities will be changed, when
aerial automobiles will flit from roof to roof...” When that was written, Wilbur and
Orville Wright’s flying machines had existed for only six years, and the first air
mail flight in the U.S. had just occurred in New York.
According to an article in The American City’s September 1930 issue by Clarence Young,
assistant secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, commercial flying was officially recognized by
the federal government in 1926 with the Air Commerce Act. As a result of that legislation and
dramatic flights by pioneer aviators, including Charles Lindbergh’s first nonstop solo flight across
the Atlantic in 1927, landing fields and municipal airports quickly appeared across the country.
City officials began to realize that, according to Young, “Air transportation must have some sort of
terminal; and the better the airport, the more traffic will be attracted to that particular port.”
Soon, The American City created a regular section that carried reports from “airminded
communities” about new airport construction projects, recommendations for runway and
terminal designs, and lighting technology that would guide planes and permit airport use at night.
The magazine also regularly featured articles about the varied benefits of air travel, including
aerial photography and its usefulness for land planning.
The July 1929 edition featured a report about the newly authorized Bergen County, N.J.,
aviation police squadron, which consisted of five officers/pilots, a Fokker biplane presented by
the Wright Aeronautical Corp. and three “small commercial planes” at its disposal courtesy
of the New Standard Aircraft Co. The unit’s duties were to inspect all aircraft that made their
headquarters in the county, force down and penalize any planes that violated regulations, and
respond to emergencies that required “an exceptionally rapid trip to a scene of disorder or crime.”
American City & County, December 2010, Vol. 125, No. 13, (ISSN: 0149-337X) is published monthly with an extra issue in November by Penton Media, 9800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park KS
66212-2216 (penton.com). Periodicals postage paid at Shawnee Mission, KS, and additional mailing offices. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608. Canada return address:
Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to American City & County, P.O. Box 2100, Skokie, IL 60076-7800 USA.

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EDItorIAL ADVISory BoArD

Senior Vice President

www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 3

12 ‘E-dISCOVEry’ COStS ArE

13 nO frIES WIth thAt

24 flEEt MAnAGErS kEEP 25

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www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 13

redeveloped brownfield sites

75 State and local IT departments are

14 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

| 2011 CHEVROLET CAPRICE POLICE PATROL VEHICLE

16 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

Find your power to pay less at www.TCPN.org/PowertothePublic

Lost: Where’s the ﬁre? Oh,

18 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

GAS GENERATOR SET FOR STANDBY USE

On Sept. 20, 2011, EPA will

EPA launches Green Green Power Community

Challenge using the highest percentage of

20 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati has contracted with

Warren County, N.J., has purchased records sharing software from

Hillsboro, Ore., has contracted with Dubuque, Iowa-based Cartegraph

www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 21

Locals cannot opt out of

22 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

Fleet managers • One new police or

keep headlamps clear •

on vehicles full-size light bar: $90

24 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

Snapshot showcases the best of architecture,

Local Government News

www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 25

The winners are:

Coral Gables, Fla.

www.americancityandcounty.com | December 2010 27

Tenaciously powered. Performance-minded, rear-wheel drive. Heavy-duty

Heavy-duty suspension, load leveling and height control

All-new, standard 3.6-liter 292 hp Pentastar V6 with available Flex-Fuel* capability

fleet.chrysler.com | 800-999-FLEET (3533)

30 December 2010 | www.americancityandcounty.com

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