Once again, the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting has been bestowed upon the City of Weston. For the 17th consecutive year, Weston has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).
“Congratulations are in order for Bryan Cahen, our Director of Budget, for preparing and presenting a budget that meets the scrutiny of his peers across the United States,” expressed City Manager John Flint. “Bryan’s work serves not only as a financial tool for the City Commission and the City staff, but also as an educational tool for the City’s residents to know and understand the City’s finances and how the city operates on an annual basis.”
In order to achieve the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the submitting entity must publish a budget document that satisfies nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The guidelines assess how well the budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device.
Publication of an award-winning document reflects the commitment of the government body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental accounting. Cahen worked diligently with City of Weston department heads to prepare the annual budget for the Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2018, pursuant to the GFOA guidelines.
The City’s finance staff is currently working on the budget plan for Fiscal Year 2020. Public hearings on the proposed budget will be held on Wednesday, September 11th and Monday, September 23rd at 7pm at Weston City Hall. The budget will go into effect on October 1st. The proposed budget keeps the ad valorem millage rate (tax rate) steady for the second year at 3.3464 and proposes no decrease in General Fund service levels.
According to Mayor Daniel Stermer, the City Commissioners take the budget process very seriously because the annual budget, with its implications on the City’s millage rate and the services provided, touches every resident and business owner personally and financially.
The GFOA is a non-profit professional association serving over 19,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
- Weston residents can review the City’s award-winning Fiscal Year 2019 Budget document online at https://www.westonfl.org/home/showdocument?id=3080.