(Idaho Falls, ID) – The City of Idaho Falls was recognized by the Association of Idaho Cities (AIC) on Thursday evening with prestigious City Achievement Awards at the association’s annual conference held in Boise.

“Our city staff regularly develop practical and innovative solutions to the problems and challenges we face as strive to deliver excellent service to Idaho Falls residents,” said Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper.  “Recognition from the AIC represents accolades from our peers across the state. Our staff can feel very good about this.”

The city won the recognition in the category of Public Safety for the Idaho Falls Police Department’s collaboration with Idaho Falls School District 91 to provide anonymous reporting tools for local students to report criminal or concerning activities at local schools.

The project involved posters being distributed around schools with a QR code that students can scan with popular phone apps such as Snapchat to easily access an anonymous submission form. Each submission is then sent to School Resource Officers and Administrators. Because of the program, students are able to report activities that often are hidden from administrators or law enforcement without fear of being discovered or found out by their peers.

“The safety of our community’s children is vitally important to IFPD,” Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson said. “This is one more resource to help keep our schools safe. We appreciate the partnership between the district and our school resource officers that led to the development of this program, and specifically Officer Brian Smith who took the ideas and put it all together.”

“We appreciate the strong working relationship we have with the Idaho Falls Police Department, and the opportunity to work together on innovative ways to try and make our schools and community safer,” said George Boland, superintendent of the Idaho Falls School District.

The city’s Public Works Department was also recognized with a City Achievement Award in the Public Works & Transportation Category for their work creating an interactive, web-based map feature.  The online map provides community members with a user friendly, one-stop location for all information about all planned City of Idaho Falls construction.

“Derek Bates, our Geographic Information System Coordinator, did an excellent job creating an online application to better inform our residents and others traveling on our roadways regarding construction impacts,” states Chris Fredericksen, City of Idaho Falls Public Works Director. “It is a tool to help keep people informed and we hope it will be a great resource for the community for the future.” 

The Association of Idaho Cities is an organization that promotes excellence in governance, leadership and services to citizens.  The awards were presented on Thursday evening, June 20, as part of the annual AIC conference in Boise. 

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Media Note: For more information or to arrange interviews with city staff, contact Idaho Falls Public Information Officer Bud Cranor at 208-612-8306.