Town of Westlake Receives Texas Municipal League Municipal Excellence Award

The Town of Westlake announces that it was awarded the 2009 Texas Municipal League Municipal Excellence Award in Management Innovations at the Texas Municipal League Annual Conference and Exhibition. 

The official award ceremony was held October 21 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.  The 2009 Texas Municipal League Municipal Excellence Awards recognize and encourage the achievements of Texas cities in meeting the challenges of municipal government. Westlake received the Management Innovations Award in the Under 25,000 Population Category for its unique community outreach program, Westlake Windows: Transparent Government in Focus (TGIF).

In an effort to bring local government closer to the citizens of Westlake, Town leaders recently implemented this multi-faceted program, utilizing innovative efforts to better engage the community.  These outreach efforts include: frequent community contact via broadcast email and “voice shots” via phone; creation of an updated town Web site; timely management of online news about Westlake; publication and distribution of a quarterly, electronic newsletter; sponsorship of neighborhood meetings in residents’ homes; online availability of agendas and supporting documents for all council, commission, and board meetings; and the introduction of “Westlake e-Tube,” featuring Web-based videos on a variety of Town-related topics.

“The Town of Westlake is honored to have received this prestigious recognition for our Westlake Windows: TGIF program,” said Town Manager Tom Brymer.  “It is our belief that a well-informed and engaged citizenry is essential to creating a sense of community and effective local government.  We want to express our sincere thanks to the Texas Municipal League for acknowledging our efforts in this endeavor and, to the citizens of Westlake, who have helped expand and nurture the development of our growing town.”