The Georgetown County Department of Public Services has received full accreditation by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for the fourth time. This accreditation formally verifies and recognizes that the agency is in full compliance with the recommended management practices set forth in APWA’s Public Works Management Practices Manual.
Open to all governmental agencies with responsibilities for public works functions, initial accreditation from APWA is for a four-year period, during which time semi-annual updates will be required to demonstrate continuing compliance. After that time, there is a re-accreditation process which builds on the original accreditation, encouraging continuous improvement and compliance with newly identified practices
The purpose of accreditation is to promote excellence in the operation and management of a public works agency, its programs and employees. Accreditation is designed to assist the agency in continuous improvement of operations and management, and in providing a valid and objective evaluation of agency programs as a service to the public and the profession.
“We are a small county with big heart,” said Ray Funnye, director of the Georgetown County Public Services Department. “In 2011, we were the second agency in the state of South Carolina to become accredited. It’s wonderful that our staff was able to again be reaccredited. Our staff worked so hard for this. I am ecstatic and I’m looking forward to having an official presentation of this achievement to County Council next month with a representative from the APWA on hand.”
Reaccreditation distinguishes Georgetown County Public Services as an efficient and effective organization, Funny said. "There are 38 chapters that cover everything from HR to project management to solid waste management. For each of these, we have to not only demonstrate we have policies and procedures in place to help us be effective and efficient, but we have to be able to demonstrate that we are using these on a daily basis, not just putting them on a shelf somewhere.”
APWA’s accreditation process includes five major steps:
- Self-Assessment: Using the Public Works Management Practices Manual, an internal review of an agency’s practices combined with a comparison of the recommended practices contained in the manual;
- Application: Once the decision has been made to commit to the Accreditation Program, the agency submits a formal application;
- Improvement: After the agency has completed the self-assessment and identified areas needing improvement, the agency will work to bring all practices into an acceptable level of compliance with the recommended practices;
- Evaluation: Following the completion of the improvement phase, the agency will request a site visit. The site visit will consist of a review and evaluation of the agency to determine the level of compliance with all applicable practices.
- Accreditation: The Accreditation Council will review the site visit results and recommendation from the team, voting to award or deny accreditation.
Formally awarded the prestigious accreditation by APWA’s Accreditation Council for the 4th time, the Georgetown County Department of Public Services was awarded APWA Accreditation originally in 2011. In addition to Georgetown County, the accredited agencies in South Carolina include Anderson, Beaufort and Charleston Counties, as well as the municipalities of Charleston and Mount Pleasant.
For more information about APWA Accreditation, please contact APWA Accreditation Manager, Jeanette Klamm, at jklamm@apwa.net, or (816)595-5295.
About APWA
The American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net) is a not-for-profit, international organization of more than 30,000 members involved in the field of public works. APWA serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge. APWA is headquartered in Kansas City, MO, has an office in Washington, DC, and 63 chapters in North America.