The Town of Arlington had won two awards, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) announced at its 2022 annual meeting this month --Arlingtonma.gov was the category 1 (population more than 25,000) winner of its municipal website award, and the town was the category 1 (population more than 15,000), second-place winner of the the town report contest. 

“We are honored that the MMA has recognized our website and annual report with these awards,” said Town Manager Adam ina Jan. 27 news release. “Kudos to Joan Roman, the town’s public-information officer, and everyone who worked on both the website and the annual report to earn this honor.” 

Roman commented: “This is a really nice recognition of so much of the work that goes on in the background at Town Hall. Both the website and annual report are a culmination of many staff across the organization working to keep the public informed.”

Annual Town Reports serve to communicate important information to residents and promote an understanding of, and involvement in, local government. Judging criteria the MMA used for annual reports include layout and cover design, arrangement of material, presentation of statistics and data, summary of the year’s achievements, evidence of local planning for the future and the report’s usefulness. 

Since 2000, Arlington’s Annual Reports have been recognized by the MMA 14 times. They may be viewed at arlingtonma.gov/annualreports

The website award recognize excellence in customer service, functionality, convenience and government transparency delivered by a municipal website in Massachusetts. Arlington’s website scored highest using the following criteria for municipal websites: 

• Current and timely information;
• Use of social media and tools for online community engagement (including an events calendar);
• Intuitive navigation tools and organization of material;
• Ease of access to resources for residents, such as the ability to apply for licenses and permits, pay bills, order documents and make suggestions;
• Availability of public records;
• Clear branding as the official municipal government site;
• Robust search function;
• Mobile-responsive design;
• Details about municipal departments; and
• Visual appeal and overall experience.

This news announcement was published Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.