American Public Works Association Accreditation

Residents of many communities can only assume that city operations are efficient, safe and cost-effective. Fairfield residents, however, can rest assured that all operations in the Public Utilities Department are meeting the highest of standards. The department earned accreditation from the highly respected American Public Works Association (APWA) in October of 2012. The Public Utilities department was the first Utility Department in the state of Ohio, and the twelfth nationally, to receive the prestigious award. The Department was re-accredited in October of 2020 following a comprehensive audit of policies, procedures and practices performed by independent evaluators.

Accreditation is defined as "to certify as meeting all formal official requirements." Businesses can acquire accreditation through a third party source to display they are providing services that meet or exceed expected management and/or quality control practices. More and more municipal organizations throughout the country are trending towards acquiring accreditation in order to validate and quantify service levels and operations within their communities. The APWA is a third party source which provides an Accreditation and Self-Assessment program to public municipalities. APWA provides a program which formally verifies and recognizes public works and public utilities agencies for compliance with recommended "best practice" standards set forth in their Public Works Management Practices Manual.