Salt Lake City has been honored by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its FY17 (current) City budget.
In conjunction with the award, City Budget Manager John Vuyk and his team have received a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation from the organization, noting their contributions as the primary preparers of the budget.
Salt Lake City has been recognized for its thorough and professional budget presentation by the GFAO in this way for three decades.
“Our City’s budget preparation team continues to win this prestigious honor because of their commitment to the highest standards of fiscal policy and management,” said Mayor Jackie Biskupski. “Preparing the budget each year is a time-consuming and complex process. It requires incredible attention to detail and flexibility in dealing with many moving parts. I’m extremely proud of Finance Director Mary Beth Thompson and John and his team for their excellent work on behalf of Salt Lake City residents.”
The Chicago-based GFOA is the premier professional association serving the needs of more than 19,000 appointed and elected municipal and state government finance practitioners. The organization provides training, products, and publications for government employees who serve their constituents with finance policy and management.
“This award is recognition of the hard work and dedication provided by all those involved in the City budget process,” John said. “It shows the City’s commitment to providing sound and fiscally responsible policies. The City’s ability to continue to achieve this award over thirty years shows the consistent use of the budget to help determine policy and present priorities, to residents and other stakeholders.”
To be recognized, budget documents must be rated “proficient” in four categories, and in 14 mandatory criteria within those categories, said Todd Buikema, Acting Director for the Technical Services Center of GFOA. The categories are designed to assess how well a city’s budget serves as:
A policy document
A financial plan
An operations guide
A communications device
More than 1,600 cities and states participate in the GFOA’s Budget Awards Program. Honorees “have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America,” Buikema said.