Governor Scott announces 2013 Sustained Excellence Award and Governor’s Sterling Award recipients
Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department to be honored by Florida Sterling Council
(MIAMI, May 6, 2013) – Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Sterling Council today announced that the that Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department (MDPROS) will be honored with the Governor’s prestigious Sustained Excellence Award for 2013. The news comes as the Governor’s Office also announces the Pinellas County Tax Collector will receive the Governor’s Sterling Award for 2013, which MDPROS won in 2009. These coveted awards will be bestowed at the 2013 Governor’s Sterling Award Banquet at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes on Friday, May 31, 2013.
Governor Scott said, “The Governor’s Sterling Award winners reflect our focus of making Florida the best state in the nation to live, work and raise a family. I congratulate this year’s top-performing Sterling Award recipients. This award is the highest recognition an organization in Florida can receive for performance excellence. The Governor’s Sterling Award process is an efficient and robust tool for all organizations that saves Florida businesses millions of dollars annually.”
“We are both honored and proud that the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department (MDPROS) has been selected as the recipient of the 2013 Governor’s Sustained Excellence Award,” said Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “MDPROS is a shining example of government doing its job the right way. Not only have we proven our ability to deliver high-quality public services to our residents, but we are constantly looking for ways to improve upon our past successes and serve our residents even better.”
Said Miami-Dade Parks Director Jack Kardys, “The economic difficulties of the past few years have affected everyone, and what we have learned is that an organization’s ability to weather this storm has much to do with the management systems it has in place. Miami-Dade Parks is resilient today, because of our commitment to the Sterling process. It has enabled us to be flexible and nimble, and to stay disciplined and focused on our customers. We are very excited to have won this award.”
2013 Governor’s Sustained Excellence Award Recipient
This award is an annual award to recognize Florida organizations that have previously received the Governor’s Sterling Award and are sustaining excellent results, continuing to pursue systematic performance improvement.
Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department (Miami) operates a large urban park system, managing 260 park properties comprised of active and passive parks, as well as protected, environmentally sensitive properties, serving 2.5 million residents and 1.1 million residents for the unincorporated area. Customer satisfaction scores have continued to improve. For example, the general population’s overall satisfaction with the summer camp for children increased from 4.40 to 4.55, and overall satisfaction of parents increased from 4.75 to 4.95 on a scale of 5.0. As the Department progresses toward its self-sustaining business model, the percentage of operational budget supported by user fees has increased from 36 percent in Fiscal Year 2008 to 40 percent in Fiscal Year 2012, exceeding the Florida Benchmarking Consortium average of 32 percent. Expenditures decreased from $129.6 million in Fiscal Year 2008 to $111.2 million in Fiscal Year 2012. Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces was the recipient of the 2009 Governor’s Sterling Award, and they are now the first county department to be recognized with the Governor’s Sustained Excellence Award.
2013 Governor’s Sterling Award Recipient
For 21 years, the Governor’s Sterling Award has recognized organizations and businesses in Florida that have successfully achieved performance excellence within their management and operations.
The Pinellas County Tax Collector, serving more than 917,000 residents of Pinellas County, is responsible for the collection and distribution of property taxes, sales taxes, and tourist development taxes, as well as providing motor vehicle and licensing services on behalf of the state through its six branch offices. As an independently elected Constitutional Officer that acts as the county’s chief revenue officer, the Pinellas County Tax Collector collects more than $2 billion in taxes each year and feeds, and distributes that revenue among 64 taxing authorities to fund their services. Transaction accuracy, a customer necessity, has demonstrated a consistently high level of accuracy at 99 percent in Fiscal Year 2012. Overall walk-in customer satisfaction is at 99 percent, with the service categories of courtesy, knowledge, cleanliness, and efficiency performing better than other top performing peers. The number of transactions per employee, a measure of productivity, is at 6,453 transactions per full-time employee, outperforming all peers in Fiscal Year 2012. The Pinellas County Tax Collector is a first-time recipient of the Governor’s Sterling Award.
About the Governor’s Sterling Award
Established in 1992, the Florida Sterling Council is a public/private not-for-profit corporation supported by the Executive Office of the Governor. Sterling’s Annual Conference is exclusively designed to teach participants how to elevate performance and increase productivity. Nearly 500 executives and professionals gather at this event for a one-stop source for education, information and inspiration. The conference concludes with the recognition of best practices, the Team Showcase Champion, and the presentation of the Governor’s Sterling Awards, the highest award an organization can receive for performance excellence in Florida. For more information, contact John Pieno at (850) 922-5316 or visit www.floridasterling.com.
About the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department
Nationally accredited, a three-time winner of the NRPA National Gold Medal Award and winner of the 2009 Florida Governor’s Sterling Award for excellence in management and operations, Miami-Dade County Parks is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of 260 parks and 12,825 acres of land. It is one of the most unique park and recreation systems in the world. Made up of more than just playgrounds and athletic fields, it also comprises out-of-school, sports-development, and summer-camp programs; programs for seniors and people with disabilities; educational nature centers and nature preserves; environmental restoration efforts; arts and culture programs and events; the renowned Zoo Miami and the Deering Estate at Cutler; the Crandon Tennis Center, home of the Sony Open; golf courses; beaches; marinas; campgrounds; pools; and more. For information about Miami-Dade County Parks call 3-1-1, or visit www.miamidade.gov/parks/.
Miami-Dade County Parks is supported by The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade a non-profit 501(c)3 organization supporting the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department’s efforts to further develop Miami-Dade County’s world-class parks system for residents and visitors. Its mission is to create a healthier, more livable and sustainable Miami community by ensuring the implementation of the Parks Open Space Master Plan and the development of year-round park and recreation programs for local children, adults and people with disabilities. For more information on the Parks Foundation, please visit www.miamidade.gov/parks_foundation.