Port one of nine to receive award for services

The City of Port Washington is one of nine cities across the country to receive a Leading the Way Award from ETC Institute, a national survey and research firm.

City Administrator Tony Brown said the award is a reflection on the hard work done by the staff members “day in and day out. Without them, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

The city ranked in the top 10% of all communities in three areas — resident satisfaction with the overall quality of services, with the service provided by city employees and the value residents perceive they receive from taxes and fees.

In addition to ranking in the top 10% overall, the city ranked in the top 10% of four individual categories — traffic flow, visibility of police in neighborhoods, number of city parks and walking and biking trails.

Award winners were selected from nearly 200 communities that participated in ETC’s DirectionFinder survey conducted between August 2020 and 2021.

Brown said that the survey results will be used as the city works to create a strategic plan in the coming year.

He noted the survey identified several priority areas — chief among them maintenance of streets, sidewalks and infrastructure and communication with the public — that will be addressed.

The Common Council approved $3.2 million in transportation projects, developing a communication plan and redesigning the city website next year, Brown said.