Eugene Public Works earns accreditation from American Public Works Association

The Eugene Public Works Department is the first agency in Oregon, and the 19th agency in the nation, to be accredited through the American Public Works Association.

Eugene went through a two-year process that included phases for self-assessment, improvement and, ultimately, an on-site

You have set the bar for cities in Oregon, Ann Daniels, who coordinates APWA's national accreditation program, said in announcing the Eugene department's achievement. We trust you have found great benefits from working through the management practices and that each member of your department will feel a sense of pride at having completed a job well done.

Accreditation offers a number of benefits to public works agencies. Practices and processes are documented, which helps ensure that valuable knowledge is retained in the organization when people retire or get new jobs. It also requires the agencies to take a critical look at their operations, identify duplication and wasted effort, and develop plans to fulfill unmet operational needs.

In Eugene, for example, performance measures were developed for the department's fleet section that are expected to result in significant long-term cost savings. Plans were also created for maintaining playgrounds and inventorying the city's street trees.