City of Suffolk Receives Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting 

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has given an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting to the City of Suffolk for its Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The City of Suffolk has received a Popular Award for the last consecutive seven years. The Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting is a prestigious national award recognizing conformance with the highest standards for preparation of state and local government popular reports. In order to receive an Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting, a government unit must publish a Popular Annual Financial Report, whose contents conform to program standards of creativity, presentation, understandability, and reader appeal. 

The PAFR was produced by the City of Suffolk Finance Department in conjunction with general graphical and layout work by the City of Suffolk Media & Community Relations Department. The reviewers commented that overall it is a well-balanced report that uses charts, graphs and narratives to simplify the data that was derived from the more complex annual report.

The report provides an overview of the City’s financial results and is designed to increase awareness throughout the community of the City’s financial operations in a user-friendly manner. The information is derived from the audited financial statements in the City’s 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report which is the formal annual report. 

The 2020 PAFR is available for viewing on the City’s website at https://issuu.com/cityofsuffolk/docs/pafr_2020?fr=sNWVjYjM1NzI5NDQ. Hard copies are available at the Finance Department and Media & Community Relations Department Office located in Suffolk City Hall, 442 West Washington Street.

City of Suffolk Receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award 

The City of Suffolk has been awarded a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the twelfth straight year for its’ 2021-2022 Fiscal Year Operating and Capital Budget. The award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. 

In order to receive this award, the City of Suffolk had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines assess how well the budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications device. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is a major professional association servicing the needs of nearly 19,000 appointed and elected local, state and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.