The City of Valdosta received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, on Jan. 27, 2015, for its Fiscal Year 2014 Budget.  Deputy City Manager for Administration Mark Barber accepted the Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation on behalf of the Finance Department, Budget Division, and the department’s staff.

“The City of Valdosta is extremely proud to receive this national award for the 18^th consecutive year,” said City Manager Larry Hanson.  “The award represents a significant achievement and reflects the consistent commitment of Mark Barber, the Finance Department, Budget Division and its staff for continually meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”

In order to receive the budget award, the city had to meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation designed to assess how well the city’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications tool.  The city’s budget documents rated “proficient” in all four categories, as well as the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories. 

The city has also received the Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the past 28 consecutive years, also from the GFOA.

The GFOA is a professional association serving the needs of more than 18,000 appointed and elected local, state and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners.  Headquartered in Chicago, Ill., the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.