Awards
Recognition
- Officer Shaun Parsley was named Concord Kiwanis Officer of the Year for 2022. Officer Parsley's continued commitment to the citizens of Concord, the City of Concord and the Police Department is shown by his dedication to service and professionalism.
- 2022 Helen Putnam Award
- 10 Best Places to Retire
- Applause for Downtown
- Light of Hope Award
- Financial Excellence
- Information Technology Excellence
- Urban Forest
2022 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence -
Cities, county win award for behavioral hea
lth program
At its statewide conference, the League of California Cities announced the winners of the prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in 2022. The award is given annually in 12 categories, with the partnership among all 19 cities and towns in Contra Costa County and Contra Costa Health (CCH) receiving the Award for Intergovernmental Collaboration for the Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime (A3) behavioral health crisis response initiative. A3 seeks to transform the region’s behavioral health care and emergency response system.
Concord and other cities worked together with CCH, as well as mental health providers, community advocates and people with lived experiences or their family members to develop the new A3 system for delivering safe, appropriate care to county residents who are experiencing behavioral health emergencies.
The 2022 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence winners, recognized for their outstanding programs, were chosen from 155 submissions. Learn more at www.helenputnam.org.
Concord: One of Best Places in the World to Retire
The well-respected Condé Naste Traveler magazine named Concord one of the 10 best places in the world to retire. Concord joined a list that included cities in:
Belize
- Ireland
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Panama
- Portugal
Conde Naste said "Concord is a big little city, home to farmers markets, excellent health care facilities, and free community activities throughout the year."
Applause for Downtown Plan
The Association of Bay Area Governments honored Concord with the Start It Up Award for the City's Downtown Specific Plan, which will guide the continued development of the dynamic area around Todos Santos Plaza.
Light of hope award to city of concord Housing Department
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Contra Costa awarded its 2021 Light of Hope Award to the Concord City Council Members as well as Housing Department staff in honor of the City's commitment to its most vulnerable populations, including foster youth as outlined in the City's 2021-22 Action Plan and its commitment to addressing homelessness.
Recognition of Financial Excellence
For the twenty-seventh consecutive year, Concord received the Government Financial Officer's Association (GFOA) Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for fiscal year 2021-2022.
Recognition for Information Technology Excellence
Concord was recognized with the Excellence in IT Practices Award by the Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC) for outstanding governance and operational practices. This is the sixth consecutive award.
Caring for the Urban Forest
The Arbor Day Foundation designated Concord as a Tree City USA for the 40th consecutive year for meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita no urban forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day.