AMO 2019: Peter J. Marshall award honourees
Created by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award recognizes Ontario municipalities that can point to tangible outcomes from new, more cost-effective ways of providing public services.
The award, named after one of the province’s most innovative municipal finance commissioners, was presented to a trio of municipalities at AMO’s 2019 conference in Ottawa. The honourees included the City of Markham’s Markham Tackles Textiles, the Municipality of Grey Highlands’ App it up! Connecting with Grey Highlands, and York Region’s Court Remote Testimony.
City of Markham: Markham Tackles Textiles
Markham is receiving the award for its textile recycling program. The initiative is aimed at reducing the number of textiles going to landfill and the unregulated “used clothing” bins. Markham partnered with registered charities to re-brand donation containers placed across the city at both public and private locations.
Municipality of Grey Highlands: App it up! Connecting with Grey Highlands!
Grey Highlands – like many other communities – saw the value of the internet and online services.
With that in mind, the municipality launched an app that is proving to be an effective tool. The app allows residents to report potholes, undertake online purchasing of services, and receive emergency information.
Region of York: Court Remote Testimony
The Region of York created a system that can correct an issue many municipalities struggle with. Whenever a provincial offence ticket goes to trial, the issuing officer must attend to testify; otherwise, and if not, the case may be dismissed, and revenue lost. The cost in both time and money to have an officer travel from their district to a court can be quite high.
And so, the region’s IT services branch developed a program that would use the internet and video technology to allow for remote testimony from police offers without requiring them to drive to the courthouse. MW
✯ Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in the article: 2018 Peter J. Marshall Awards: City of Vaughan and Town of Innisfil recognized for innovative initiatives or in Rob Adams’ article: Local innovation inspires app for Grey Highlands. Note that you can now access the complete collection of past articles (and more) from your membership dashboard.
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