The Government Finance Officers Association has awarded the city of Sedona its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
The award, announced March 12, represents a significant achievement by the city and its Financial Services Department.
It reflects the city’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the city had to satisfy nationally-recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The guidelines are designed to assess how well Sedona’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.
Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award.
When the association presents a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to a governmental entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individuals or department designated as being primarily responsible for having achieved the award. The city’s award has been presented to the Financial Services Department.
“City staff members spend many, many hours each year preparing a budget that is accurate, complete and understandable,” City Manager Justin Clifton said. “Our Financial Services Department staff works hard year-round on the budget and gets input and support from our leadership team and Citizen Budget Work Group. This award is a reflection of that work and a commitment to excellence.”
There are more than 1,600 participants in the GFOA Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website at gfoa. org. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a major professional association servicing the needs of more than 19,000 appointed and elected local, state and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. It is dedicated to enhancing the skills and performance of those responsible for government finance policy and management. The association is headquartered in Chicago, Ill., with offices in Washington D.C.
