The City of Columbia is pleased to announce it has received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2021-2022 budget. The award represents a significant achievement in governmental budgeting for local government entities. The City of Columbia has now received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for five consecutive years; FY 2018-2019, FY 2019-2020, FY 2020-2021, and FY 2021-2022.
Of the recognition, Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Thad Jablonski said, “It is an honor for our city to receive the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting. This achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of our Finance Department team. Their commitment to meeting and exceeding the highest principles of governmental budgeting serves as an example of our organization’s commitment to efficiency and transparency. The City of Columbia’s continued recognition by GFOA follows from collaboration and hard work by the City Council, Management Team, and all City personnel working together.”
This award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. These categories are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as:
- a policy document
- a financial plan
- an operations guide
- a communications device
The GFOA, founded in 1906, represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada and promotes excellence in state and local government financial management. The Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program was established in 1984 to encourage and assist state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality. The budget is required to reflect the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA's best practices on budgeting.
The City of Columbia Finance Department will be presented with a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation for being primarily responsible for having achieved the award. There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA's website at https://www.gfoa.org/budget-award. Award recipients strive to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other local governments.
Mayor Chaz Molder stated, “5 years! 5 years of recognition for the distinguished and sophisticated way in which our Finance Department presents the budget. This is especially important because it evidences the good work our finance team does in making sure the budget process is transparent and can be understood and accessed by all. One thing we know at City Hall is that we must ensure our budgetary house is in order first. This award is a very good indicator that we are meeting those expectations. I couldn't be more proud of our team.”
To learn more about the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, visit https://www.gfoa.org/budget-award. The City’s 2020-21 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report can be found at https://www.columbiatn.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/124. For more information, contact the Finance Department at (931) 560-1580.