By Tom Easter and Erin Wenglekowski
January 31, 2005

The United States Conference of Mayors recognized outstanding partnerships between cities and companies at the Conference's 73rd Winter Meeting January 19. Laredo Mayor Elizabeth Flores presented awards for best practices in Chicago, St. Louis, Tyler (TX), Columbus, Las Vegas, Boston, Houston and Palm Springs. In addition to Flores, who serves as Chair of the Mayors and Business Community Task Force, Conference President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran participated in the awards ceremony.

In announcing the awards, Cochran remarked, "Entrepreneurial mayors run our cities. They walk every step of the way with business. When business stands with us we are stronger."

The Mayors Business Council established the awards to encourage businesses and cities to work together to improve local communities. An independent panel of judges was appointed by the Conference of Mayors to review the submissions. The judges are former mayor of Santa Clara (CA) Judy Nadler, former mayor of Rockford (IL) Charles Box, and Neil Hare, Vice President of Corporate Communications for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Criteria upon which their selections were made included: improvement in delivery of services, replicability, sustainability, cost savings, creativity of approach, benefits to both public and private partners, economic and business benefits, and measurable results.

The award winners are as follows: Two Awards of Excellence — city of Chicago and URS for Chicago's Millennium Park ; city of St. Louis and Nextel Communications for the St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS) and Emergency Patient Tracking System (EPTS); Six Outstanding Achievement Awards — city of Tyler and Johnson Controls for Cooperative Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships; city of Columbus and Fannie Mae for Community Properties; city of Las Vegas and Cox Communications for Cox GoalGetters; city of Boston and Freddie Mac for CreditSmart Boston; city of Houston and Lehman Brothers for the Houston Convention Center Hotel; and the city of Palm Springs and Veolia Water North America for Palm Springs and Veolia Water Wastewater Partnerships.

See usmayors.org for the "Public/Private Partnership Awards Best Practices Guide."