City of Dunedin Finalist for 2008 Florida City of Excellence AwardThe Florida League of Cities recently announced that the City of Dunedin as one of six finalists for its Florida City of Excellence Award -- one of 10 awards to be presented during the Florida Cities of Excellence Awards program. Other finalists include: the cities of Clearwater; Hallandale Beach; Orlando; Sunny Isles Beach and Winter Park. The program is designed to highlight all the wonderful and innovative services cities provide to improve the quality of life in Florida and to honor dedicated city leaders and cities for their excellence in public service. The Florida City of Excellence Award recognizes overall excellence in a city government. The nominated city was judged on a number of categories including: governance & administration, city leadership, intergovernmental cooperation, citizen outreach & involvement, technology, innovative programs & services and fiscal management. “Lately it seems that the rest of the country is finding out what we’ve known here along,” said Mayor Bob Hackworth, “We have managed to keep moving ahead in spite of economic conditions and budget issues, providing a high level of services to our residents, acquiring parkland through partnerships, promoting economic development, workforce housing and Green initiatives. Dunedin is just a great place to be.” In May 2008, Dr. Beach (Stephen P. Leatherman) chose Dunedin’s Caladesi Island State Park as the Number One Beach in the country in his “America’s Best Beaches” series. Caladesi beat out beaches in Hawaii, along the Eastern Seaboard and California for this year's honor. In September 2008, CNN MONEY Magazine recognized the city as one of the top six places in the nation to retire. All finalists are invited to attend the awards luncheon November 21, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, where all winners will be announced. Winners will receive a “MUNI” award and be featured in the League’s award-winning publication, Quality Cities.
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