SALISBURY — Earlier this month, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada gave the city of Salisbury the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting.
The city has received the award for 22 years.
This award reflects the commitment of city staff in meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting, city spokeswoman Elaney Hasselmann said in a press release.
To receive the budget award, the city had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a budget document, a financial plan, an operations guide and as a communications device.
Teresa Harris, financial services manager who has worked for the city for more than 23 years, received the award.
“One of the City Council’s top goals is strong financial performance, and this recognition is a sign of our commitment to that goal,” Harris said. “This honor wouldn’t be possible without the City Council’s direction and the hard work of the Financial Services team. I would like to thank them.”
During the past two years, the city has doubled its fund balance. Last year, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the city’s bond rating twice to AA.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association servicing over 17,800 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.