El Paso Wins ‘All-America City’ Award

The National Civic League announced the winners of the 61st annual All-America City award during a celebration at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.

The National Civic League recognizes ten communities each year for outstanding civic accomplishments.

To win, each community must demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges.

More than 500 communities have won the award, some as many as five times.

All-America Cities have shown the ability to innovate in such areas as job creation, neighborhood revitalization, crime reduction, new housing for low income people, improving education, and engaging youth.

El Paso was the only finalist from Texas.

This years winners of the All-America City Award are:

El Paso, Texas Chandler, Arizona Lynwood, California Rancho Cordova, California North Miami, Florida Acworth, Georgia Des Moines, Iowa Salisbury, Maryland Gastonia, North Carolina Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Below is the summary of the El Paso Submission:

El Paso, Texas

Citizen Involvement

Though able to organize when necessary around big ticket issues, citizens? consistent and meaningful involvement in City government was lacking in El Paso. City government realized there were limited opportunities for citizens to be active in government and worked to develop specific strategies aimed at better educating, organizing and empowering citizens. The Neighborhood Services division was formed, dedicating staff to the enhanced focus on citizens? and neighborhoods? involvement. A newly created Neighborhood Leadership Academy provided citizens the leadership, direction and knowledge needed to better understand and navigate City processes as well as to become a neighborhood resource and ambassador. An improved Neighborhood Recognition ordinance was enacted, allowing for more defined neighborhood associations and neighborhood boundaries. A focus was then placed on identifying those neighborhoods that were underrepresented and did not have an organized association to bring them to the table. The Neighborhood Improvement Program empowered residents to improve their neighborhoods by submitting neighborhood-driven small-scale capital projects. Over the last five years, the City of El Paso has seen a substantial shift in the relationship between the organization and citizens at-large.

Storm Water Utility Project

Though El Paso is an oasis in the Chihuahuan desert, seeing on average over 300 sunny days a year, the city was struck a severe blow when torrential rains tore through the borderland in July 2006. The storm left in its wake $200 million in damages, and both state and federal disaster proclamations were issued. El Paso needed to find a long-term solution for dedicated stormwater infrastructure funding. The City and outside consultants gauged the amount of damage to public drainage infrastructure and brainstormed viable solutions for providing the needed on-going revenue stream. The suggestion of a stand-alone stormwater utility emerged, and it was taken to the public for an extended, open vetting process aimed at eliciting community input and feedback. The process helped the community work through logistical concerns and legislative issues, and the utility was established by ordinance in June 2007.

Da de los Nios, Da de los Libros

In 1996, a known educator and author sent out an open call to educators and librarians across the country asking them to observe a day in April as a special time to celebrate children. The El Paso Public Library and Parks & Recreation Department immediately got to work to create such an event in El Paso. Building on the familiarity in the community with Mexico?s Da del Nio (Day of the Child) every year, these City departments worked with agencies in one of the city?s and the nation?s poorest neighborhoods to create Da de los Nios / Da de los Libros (Day of the Children / Day of Books). Every year in April, the Parks and Recreation Department and El Paso Public Library work with a myriad of community organizations, which vary in scope from health care to housing, to organize and plan this free event for the community. The goal of is to provide a special day to celebrate children, literacy and health regardless of social, cultural or economic background. This event has seen its initial efforts grow into a deep-rooted annual event, one that is among that largest in the nation of its type having drawn hundreds of thousands of people and given away hundreds of thousands of books.

To see all of the winners submissions click here