The City of Alcoa recently received the KY/TN AWWA’s 2007 Public Information Award of Excellence for Medium Utilities for the City Service Guide. The award was announced at the 2007 Annual Kentucky / Tennessee Water Professionals Conference recently held in Louisville, KY. This guide is provided to each new customer as they apply for utility services, providing an overview of the City’s comprehensive services from each department.

Submittals for the Public Information Awards were evaluated independently by the Education Committee of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals. One of the panelists shared the following comment: “Great information. I would love to have something like this for our department.”

Previously the City has been honored with AWWA Public Information Awards for its annual Consumer Confidence Reports, the Customer Information Packet, and the Utility Lines newsletter.

The City Service Guide development began in 2001 when a customer service information team created the first version of the guide. This development team included representatives from all city departments. However, in 2006, the service guide needed to include updated telephone numbers, email addresses, web address, and other details. The original customer service information team joined together to update the information within the guide over the course of approximately six months.

The goal for the original guide remained true for the updated one: create a comprehensive booklet that includes a list of services for all city departments including Public Works (including Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste / Recycling Services), Electric, Police, Fire, and key contact information in an attractive format for city residents and new utility customers. This guide makes it easier for residents to recall and keep information once they sign up for utility service. And, it also helps new service representatives explain service details to customers easily and conveniently. This is especially true for customers who are new to the area or out of state.

While the primary distribution of the guide is through the new service representatives, the guide is also available online at www.cityofalcoa-tn.gov in the ‘Residents’ section. Since the website’s re-launch in March of 2007, the City Service Guide stands as the number one downloaded file from the City of Alcoa website.

If you would like a printed copy of the City Service Guide, please visit the City of Alcoa Municipal Building or call (865) 380-4700 to request a copy by mail.