The City of Gardner is an award-winning city with accolades extending across the organization. We strive each day to provide exceptional services that benefit and enrich the community. Here are some of our most recent honors and awards recognizing our efforts:

• Fastest Growing City* in the Kansas City Metro (Census Bureau, 2024 estimates) (*cities with at least 20,000 people)

• 5th Fastest Growing City in Kansas (HomeSnacks, 2024) 

• 6th Safest City in Kansas (Safewise, 2024)

• 9th Best Place to Live in Kansas (HomeSnacks, 2024) 

• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting - The city was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for their work on the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program is awarded to state and local governments to recognize financial reports demonstrating the spirit of transparency and full disclosure. The city has won this award consecutively since 2004.

• Distinguished Budget Presentation Award - The city received this award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for fulfilling nationally recognized guidelines, as well as achieved a budget rated “proficient” in the following four categories that are designed to assess how well the budget serves as a: 1) policy document, 2) financial plan, 3) an operations guide, 4) communications device. The city has won this award consecutively since 2015.

• ACEC Public Improvement Award - The city received the Public Improvement Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Kansas Chapter, for the upgrades to the I-35 and Gardner Road Interchange. ACEC presents public improvement awards yearly in several population categories for cities and counties based on the entry's benefit to the citizens and community.

• APPA Certificate of Achievement - The American Public Power Association awarded the City of Gardner Electric Division with a Certificate of Achievement for exceptional electric reliability in 2022. APPA, a trade group representing more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities, helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data through its subscription-based eReliability Tracker service. Once per year, APPA's Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities.

• KWEA Safety Award - The Kansas Water Environment Association recognizes wastewater treatment facilities with high standards of excellence in safe operation. A questionnaire and an unannounced plant inspection by KWEA Safety Committee members are used to evaluate the facility. The city has won this award multiple times, including 2022.

• Wastewater Plant of the Year in Class 4 - The Kansas Water Environment Association named the City of Gardner’s Wastewater Treatment Plant as the 2022 Plant of the Year in Class 4 for their process of converting wastewater into an effluent that can either be reused or returned to the water cycle with minimal environmental impact. The city also won this award in 2018.

• George W. Burke Facility Safety Award - The Kansas Water Environment Association recognizes the Kill Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility for its active and effective safety program and safety record. KWEA also granted this honor to the city in 2022.

•  AAA Community Traffic Safety Award-2022 (Silver Level) - AAA Community Traffic Safety Awards are presented to communities for their efforts to improve local traffic safety for all modes of travel. Award levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. This is the city's fifth consecutive award in this category.

• Tree City USA - Annually, Gardner achieves Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.