Temple awarded Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
“Receiving this national award is a significant achievement by our finance department,” City Manager Brynn Myers said. “Receiving this award for the 25th consecutive year is even more outstanding and demonstrates our commitment to financial transparency and accountability. Congratulations to our finance team for representing exceptional service without exception – both to our residents and to our city.”
The award recognizes that the city’s 2019-20 budget documents meet or exceed the GFOA’s standards for financial reporting and transparency and 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 in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award. Criteria includes a budget overview, outline of priorities and goals, financial policies, budget process, fund balance and revenue summaries, expenditures and debt, financial position and more.
“Our team and several other departments work hard each year to create a document Temple can be proud of,” Director of Finance Traci Barnard said. “We consistently deliver clear and informative budgets that are reflective of the professional work our staff and our leadership put into our financial solvency and planning for the future.”
GFOA established the Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program in 1984 to encourage and assist state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA's best practices on budgeting and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.
“I’d also like to recognize the council’s guidance and support in ensuring our financial narrative is of priority and effectively communicated to our residents,” Myers said. “Awards such as this come from hard work by the entire organization.”