For Immediate Release: October 6, 2020
GUNNISON COUNTY RECOGNIZED FOR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP
Certificate of Excellence Received for Third Consecutive Year
Gunnison County, Colo – The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) officially recognized Gunnison County, Colorado for its commitment to data-driven government management and reporting with a Certificate of Excellence in Performance Management during the ICMA’s digital event, UNITE, held September 23-26, 2020. “I am so proud of our team at Gunnison County for the hard work, commitment to our customers, focus on results, and personal and organizational accountability that this recognition represents. It is striking that of the five counties nationwide that achieved this distinction, the next smallest has a population of 270,000 and all of the others have over one million residents. When it comes to concentrating on performance and delivering excellence, Gunnison County punches well above its weight!” said Gunnison County Manager Matthew Birnie. Gunnison County has received this award annually since 2018.
“Performance management is a bedrock principle of professional local government management,” ICMA Executive Director Marc A. Ott said. “As COVID-19’s impact on our communities lingers on, we hope that by recognizing these leaders, we are encouraging others to measure how well their organization is performing, and making a commitment to collect and analyze data, report it transparently, and use it to continuously engage their communities and improve their organizations during these unprecedented times.”
Certificates are based on established criteria and are awarded at three levels: Achievement, Distinction, and the highest level of recognition, Excellence. Recipients at all levels collect and verify data to ensure reliability, train staff in performance measurement, and report data to the public through budgets, newsletters, and/or information provided to elected officials. Certificates of Distinction are awarded to those who also provide comparative and benchmarking information to the public, use performance data in strategic planning and operational decision-making, and share their knowledge with other local governments through presentations, site visits, and other networking activities. Certificates of Excellence go to those who also track and report key outcomes, survey residents and local government employees, incorporate data into performance dashboards or other visual communications, and foster the development of a performance culture throughout their organizations.
Gunnison County, Colorado is among 25 jurisdictions to receive the Certificate of Excellence, and one of 60 recognized overall. A complete list of recipients and examples of programs that exemplify the certificate criteria appear on the Certificate Program page on the ICMA website.
For more information, please contact the Gunnison County Manager’s office at (970) 641-0248.
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Pictured (left to right): Commissioner Roland Mason, Commissioner Liz Smith, County Manager Matthew Birnie holding the award, and Commissioner Jonathan Houck.