The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in recognition of its comprehensive and transparent budget process.
“WRD is honored to receive this prestigious award recognizing our agency’s rigorous and prudent budgetary practices,” said WRD Board President Sergio Calderon. “We strive to develop and implement the best fiscal oversight possible and are proud to be recognized for our hard work.”
According to a press release issued this week by the WRD, this award recognizes the highest achievements in governmental budgeting from the GFOA and reflects the WRD’s unwavering commitment to sound fiscal practices. For the past seven consecutive years, WRD has been awarded the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) Meritorious Award for Excellence in budget document and process.
The GFOA budget award is based on nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget development, documentation and public presentation. The guidelines are designed to assess how well a public agency’s budget delivers a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.
Budget documents are rated across the four categories, and 14 mandatory criteria within those categories. Since 2005, WRD’s finance department has garnered more than 14 national and state awards for its exceptional finance and budgetary practices.
“This award truly reflects an ongoing commitment to continually raise the bar,” said WRD Board Treasurer Albert Robles. “It exemplifies the District’s efforts in providing the public with greater transparency and clarity in our budgeting process.”
For budgets including fiscal period 2010, only 15 out of over three hundred water districts in California were recognized by the GFOA. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional organization serving more than 17,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
