City receives national Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

Press release:

Chicago--The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) is pleased to announce that the City of Batavia, NY, has received the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2014/15 budget.

The award represents a significant achievement by the City of Batavia. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity'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 the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. The award was presented yesterday to City Manager Jason Molino whose leadership in budgeting has resulted in an increasingly improved bond rating and financial position for the City of Batavia.

City Council President Brooks Hawley said, “This is an important accomplishment for the City of Batavia. It marks a high point in our efforts over the past decade to make our budgeting process effective, efficient and transparent. I commend the City Council, Manager and Staff for setting and accomplishing such high expectations for our City.”

For budgets beginning in 2013, 1,424 participants received the Award; although Batavia marks one of only three cities in New York among the recipients. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

“We will continue to strive to excel in our budgeting process” commented Lisa Neary, deputy director of Finance for the City who shared project management with Assistant City Manager Gretchen DiFante. “It’s important that the taxpayers are assured of our commitment to excellence and transparency in budgeting.”

The Government Finance Officers Association is a major professional association servicing the needs of more than 18,000 appointed and elected local, state, and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. It provides top quality publications, training programs, services, and products designed to enhance the skills and performance of those responsible for government finance policy and management.

The association is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in Washington, D.C. The GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.