The City of Vista will be honored by ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, as the recipient of the organization’s Program Excellence Award for the City’s Homeless Strategic Plan. ICMA’s Community Sustainability Awards recognize the innovative local government programs or processes that demonstrate innovation, excellence, and success in balancing that community’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural needs. As the recipient of ICMA’s Program Excellence Award for the Homeless Strategic Plan, the City of Vista will be honored in various platforms including ICMA’s Annual Conference, September 17-21, 2022.
In 2020, the City Council adopted Vista’s Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness utilizing evidence-based practices and programs tailored for Vista. The plan blends services, resources, and enforcement to address three primary goals: (1) prevent homelessness; (2) improve quality of life; and (3) reduce homelessness. The City of Vista is working to balance the community’s need for safe, clean neighborhoods and the need to address the problem of homelessness in the community. Significant resources have been committed toward this goal and the city has developed a homeless response plan to address short-term needs, while advancing long-term goals.
The ICMA Local Government Excellence Awards Program highlights creative contributions to professional local government management while demonstrating the difference that effective and committed management makes to the quality of life in our communities. ICMA’s program awards are presented to local governments and their chief administrators in recognition of their innovative and successful programs. Program Excellence Awards can have multiple recipients.
Awards are presented to local governments for each of three population ranges: less than 10,000, 10,000 to 49,999, and 50,000 and greater. Multi-participant nominations will be classified in the population range that corresponds to the population of the largest participating organization. Nominations are evaluated by an independent, 13-person panel of ICMA members.
“ We are pleased to be recognized for our efforts in developing our Homeless Strategic Plan,” said Judy Ritter, City of Vista mayor. “This plan is our roadmap to help guide and coordinate efforts to prevent and address homelessness within the City of Vista, which is a top priority for the City Council.”
These recipients set the standard for innovation, effectiveness, and creativity in the cities, towns, counties, and academic institutions they lead. We thank them for their commitment to improving the lives of the constituents they serve every day. In addition to in-person and virtual conference recognition, the 2022 ICMA award recipients will be highlighted in the October 2022 issue of PM magazine.
For more information about ICMA’s Local Government Excellence Awards Program, contact Joyce Lee at jlee@icma.org or 202-962-3625.
About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. Our mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build livable communities that improve people’s lives. ICMA provides member support; publications; data and information; peer and results-oriented assistance; and training and professional development to nearly 12,000 city, town, and county experts and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA’s members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.
