The city of Wilmington has been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the City’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).  According to GFOA, the award represents a significant achievement by the City, reflecting the Administration’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. This award, which pertains to the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2022, represents the 33^rd consecutive year the City has received the highest form of recognition given for governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well the City’s budget serves as:

• a Policy Document
• a Financial Plan
• an Operations Guide
• a Communications Device

Budget documents must be rated at least "Proficient" in all four of the above-mentioned categories, and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.  There are a total of 25 criteria in all. “OMB works hard each year to incorporate long-term strategic and fiscal planning decisions to assemble a budget document of the highest quality, with the goal of making it as informative as possible, yet easily understood by the average citizen,” Budget Director Greco said in a statement. “We want people to clearly see the vast array of important services their City government provides and to know that their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent wisely.” “I again congratulate Rob Greco and his staff on this remarkable achievement, and for consistently presenting a budget that is both professionally compiled and easily understood by government employees and the public,” Mayor Purzycki said. “OMB’s work allows residents to see and understand how their government manages programs and funding,” he continued, “which is consistent with my administration’s push for increased transparency and efficiency in City government.” The City’s Annual Budgets may be found here, and additional information about the budget, along with interactive financial reports, may be found on OpenGov. GFOA is a major professional association servicing the needs of more than 19,000 appointed and elected local, state, and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. It provides top quality publications, training programs, services, and products designed to enhance the skills and performance of those responsible for government finance policy and management.