Pismo Beach receives eight awards for municipal excellence

The City of Pismo Beach is the recipient of eight awards for excellence in multiple areas of government management, project development, and capital improvement projects. While each individual award is cause for celebration, the collection demonstrates the City’s commitment to excellence and the highest of standards in delivery of municipal services. 

The Pismo Beach City Council has been presented with each of these awards at its most recent City Council Meetings. “We are proud of the excellent work that our staff has put into receiving these awards on behalf of the community. The awards serve as a symbol to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Pismo Beach, that this City Council prioritizes excellence in governance and project delivery,” said Mayor Ed Waage. 

City Manager James R. Lewis added, “as an organization, we are thankful to our City Council for putting forward the vision and providing staff with the resources to be able to deliver vital municipal services to Pismo Beach. Having the recognition of these distinguished professional agencies validates the hard work and commitment that our employees deliver on a consistent basis. These awards will push us to achieve and accomplish even more for our community.”

Below is a list of awards that the City of Pismo Beach has recently received. 

• League of California Cities, Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Intergovernmental Collaboration for Central Coast Blue

• • Established in 1982 by the League of California Cities, the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program recognizes outstanding achievements by California’s 482 cities. These winning cities have made unique contributions to community residents and businesses, contributions which have resulted in lower costs or more effective delivery of services. The purpose of the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program is to recognize and promote the outstanding efforts and innovative solutions by city governments.
  • The City of Pismo Beach is the lead agency for Central Coast Blue, a regional recycled water project in San Luis Obispo County. Phase I of the project will collect and purify the effluent from the City of Pismo Beach’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and inject it into the groundwater basin to create a seawater intrusion barrier and protect the water supplies for municipal, industrial and agricultural users in the region. If needed and deemed feasible, a second phase would allow Central Coast Blue to purify the effluent from the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District’s WWTP and inject it into the groundwater basin, creating an additional water supply for the partner agencies and further protecting the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin from saltwater intrusion.

• Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Excellence in Financial Reporting Award

• • The City of Pismo Beach has received the prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. This award is given to entities that have put together a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) and achieved the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting.
  • The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is made up of over 19,000 government finance officials to promote excellence in state and local government financial management.  The GFOA established this particular award to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles and instead to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual  governments that succeed in achieving that goal.  The goal of the program ensures that users of their financial statements have the information they need to do assess the financial health of the government entity.
  • The City applied for and received the GFOA Certificate for the City’s FY 2019-20 CAFR. This year’s award marks the 19th year in a row to receive this Award!

• California Joint Powers Insurance Authority- Workers Compensation Best Overall Performance

• • The City of Pismo Beach received the Best Overall Performance Award for Workers Compensation, for municipal agencies with a police department. This year the California JPIA, the City’s insurance provider, recognized three of its over 100 members for their achievements in risk management. The Authority’s Risk Management Awards Program celebrates member risk management successes while highlighting an important point: as a risk pooling organization, the success of individual member risk management efforts benefits all members.
  • These awards recognize members that have demonstrated the best overall performance in each program. California JPIA staff evaluated both quantitative and qualitative factors that are reflective of a member’s risk management efforts. Factors included an agency’s five-year average cost of claims per $100 of payroll, its improvement in claims severity when comparing two, five-year coverage periods, its progress toward completing Loss Control Action Plan items, its Agency Exemplar rating, and its participation in Authority trainings and risk management events.

• California Association of Environmental Professionals’ Merit Award for Environmental Analysis Document for the Central Coast Blue Environmental Impact Report

• • The California Association of Environmental Professionals’ Award for Environmental Analysis Document is given to the agency publishing an outstanding environmental analysis or assessment document. This year, the Central Coast Blue Environmental Impact Report won the Merit Award for Environmental Analysis Document based on the EIR’s Completeness, Organization, Clarity, Conciseness, Summary, Methodology, and Public Involvement.

• California Chapter of the American Planning Association Excellence in Urban Design Award for the Pismo Pier Plaza Revitalization

• • The California Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Award of Excellence for Urban Design Honors plans and projects that create a sense of place, dynamic space, and better the built environment for everyone. This year, the Pismo Pier Plaza Revitalization was awarded this honor due to being a great example of community-based planning that went from visioning to reality. It was noted that the jury was impressed with the project’s great design, turning the parking lot into something usable, and many unique features of the project.

• American Public Works Association (APWA) Project of the Year, Structures $5 – 15 Million for the Pier Plaza
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) San Luis Obispo Chapter: Roadway and Highways Project of the Year AND Outstanding Bikeways and Trails Project of the Year for the Shell Beach Streetscape
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Los Angeles Section Outstanding Bikeways and Trails Project of the Year for the Shell Beach Streetscape