Will County Land Use Department wins Public Integrity Award

     JOLIET – The Will County Land Use Department has been recognized nationally for its efforts in bringing government to the people and enhancing the transparency of its operations.

     The Department was notified that it had won the American Society for Public Administration’s 2012 Public Integrity Award, which will be presented March 6 during the ASPA awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

     “This is a very important achievement,” said Will County Executive Larry Walsh. “Land Use Director Curt Paddock, and his staff have worked very hard to bring transparency, commitment and caring to all that they do for the citizens of Will County.  This is something we expect of all our departments and I applaud these public servants for raising the bar of expectations of what is now the standard for Will County.”

      ASPA is the country’s oldest, largest and most distinguished organization devoted to advancing the reputation and capabilities of public service at the local, state, federal and international levels, said Paddock. The Public Integrity Award pays tribute to an organization which has made the most outstanding contributions to responsible conduct in public service.

     Walsh was joined in his accolades by County Board member Tom Weigel (R-New Lenox), Chairman of the Board’s Land Use and Development Committee. “I am very proud our Land Use Department has been recognized at the national level for displaying the highest degree of integrity in public service. As elected officials, we must ensure all county departments are exhibiting the utmost amount of trust and transparency. Curt Paddock and his staff are doing just that on a daily basis.”

     “This award is a testimony to the hard work and devotion to public service of all the Land Use Department’s personnel,” said Paddock. “We are particularly grateful to County Executive Walsh for his constant encouragement of our department’s efforts to adhere to high ethical standards and provide quality service to Will County citizens.”

     Walsh appointed Paddock in October 2005, and charged Paddock with the task of achieving both short- and long-term changes in the ethical performance of the Department.  Additionally, Walsh wanted to ensure the changes were embraced by the staff and visible to those who use the office.

Vision and mission

     Following interviews with staff and stakeholders, Paddock found that any previous perceived lapses in ethical conduct resulted from a lack of internal and external communication regarding the departments’ ethical purposes and standards. Secondly, he found the staff’s morale suffered from the lack of a clear sense of purpose.

     Working with the managers of the Department’s five divisions – Administration and Planning, Building, Community Development, Development Review, and Resource Recovery and Energy – new vision and mission statements were created which reinforced the department’s commitment to service.

     The Department committed to public service that is ethical, transparent, equitable and service-oriented. While that had always been the case, the staff was now dedicated to promoting and communicating the goal to the public in tangible and visible ways. The service ideals, vision and mission statements are now part of the department’s daily communications.

     Those using the office are encouraged to complete customer review forms. Customer service cards with the direct telephone numbers of all of the division directors also were created.

     To give the public additional opportunities to monitor and comment upon the department’s ethical performance, the Land Use Department started utilizing websites, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.

     “The award recognizes how the Department’s efforts to change its culture, through rededication to a sense of mission and clear ethical standards, resulted in tangible improvements to the staffs’ morale, performance and professional pride,” said Paddock. “This approach and these improvements have generated many indications of the public’s enhanced trust and satisfaction with the quality of the department’s services.”

20^th century inspiration

     A crucial element in the office culture change was the feeling of commitment to not just the people who walk in the door, but to all elements of Will County.

     Paddock found inspiration from Aldo Leopold, a leading professional and thought leader in the fields of forestry, land management and ecology. He developed his “land ethic,” which described community as more than the people, in the early 20^th century. He extended the definition of community to include “soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively: the land.”  That means, Paddock said, that everyone who pledges commitment and devotion to the community assumes an ethical obligation to the land.

     “Each time we carefully evaluate a development proposal, clean up a neighborhood, inspect a building or promote recycling, we are demonstrating our devotion and commitment to a community composed of people, buildings and the land itself.”

     That broad view of community says a lot about the Land Use Department, said Walsh. “Curt and the 50 dedicated employees who work for the Land Use Department live that sense of community. They live that promise of commitment, care, honesty, fairness, respect and competence.

     For more information about the Will County Land Use Department, go to www.willcountylanduse.com.