For the third consecutive year, the City of Avondale came out on top in the 2015 Digital Cities Awards. Run by the Center for Digital Government, the awards are a competitive honor with hundreds of municipalities contending each year.  The program recognizes cities that use technology to engage their citizens, provide exceptional municipal services, innovate, and collaborate.

Avondale Mayor Kenneth Weise and Vice Mayor Stephanie Karlin will accept the award on behalf of the city at a special ceremony during the National League of Cities Congress of Cities in Nashville, TN on November 5.

Judges evaluated the survey submissions of each city by considering four elements: citizen engagement, policy, operations, and technology and data. According to the Center for Digital Government, the top-ranked cities in their population categories ware Philadelphia, Pa; Alexandria, Va.; Avondale, Ariz.; and Shawnee, Kan..

Avondale received first place honors in the 75,000 – 124,999 population category.  Avondale has placed in the top-ten of the Digital Cities Awards for four straight years with first place honors in 2013, 2014 and 2015.  The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology Magazine shared that this is a first ever three time first place award for a city in the population group. Avondale received national recognition this year for its IT governance model, cloud-based disaster recovery and pragmatic approach to cybersecurity.