(Miami, Florida)- The City of Miami’s Office of Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Performance has been awarded the 2008 Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA)’s Distinguished Presentation Award for the fiscal year budget 2007-2008. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting and is the highest form of recognition a municipality can receive in governmental budgeting.

“Balancing a budget of this magnitude, while being responsible stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars is a difficult task,” said Mayor Manny Diaz. “Miami residents should feel proud that the City has received this national recognition for the ability to achieve this delicate balance and present a budget document that rivals all others in our country.” 

The City of Miami has been recognized for this prestigious award for two consecutive years. This year, the City of Miami was given top billing among 1,127 participating entities. Miami was chosen for their pioneering efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and for providing an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

“The award is a testament to the good work of Michael Boudreaux and his team in our Budget Department,” said City Manager Pete Hernandez. “As we work to balance the City’s budget for the next fiscal year, this administration will continue to focus on delivering the highest quality of work to our citizens.”

The City’s Annual Budget Report was judged by the Budget Award Task Force appointed to assist staff in difficult award decisions, to revise the budget criteria, and to make recommendations to the Budget Award Task Force on policy issues.

The GFOA established the Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program (Budget 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 recommended practices on budgeting and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. To receive this award, the participating governmental entity must meet program criteria in four areas: as a policy document, as an operations guide, as a financial plan and as a communications device.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is a non-profit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL and Washington, D.C.