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Dec 17, 2021
For the first time, the City of Rehoboth Beach has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Recognized for its fiscal year 2021-22 budget, the city is believed to be one of only four Delaware municipal or county governments – and, by far the smallest – to earn the distinction in 2021.
According to GFOA, the award represents a significant achievement and an organization’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.
“Transparency is the chief benefit for residents of recognized communities,” says Rehoboth Beach Finance Director Burt Dukes. “The city’s current budget document includes additional information that is not typically a component of the independent auditor’s report. Budgets that receive GFOA’s distinguished presentation award are written in a simple narrative and provide tables and charts that the average, nonfinancial expert can easily understand.”
Dukes notes that Rehoboth Beach’s ability to meet GFOA criteria has been facilitated by technology and software upgrades to the city’s accounting system. The upgrades have allowed the finance department to compile more information for its budget document in a faster, more efficient manner.
“I am so very proud to be the first small municipality in the state to achieve this distinction,” says City Manager Sharon Lynn. “Receiving this prestigious award from GFOA certainly marks a major milestone for the City of Rehoboth Beach and illustrates how we’ve excelled at utilizing 21st century tools to provide comprehensive, accessible, and clear information to our citizens.
“It’s my extreme honor,’ she adds, “to work with Finance Director Burt Dukes, who has taken a very complex financial document and presented it in a way that is, simultaneously, informative and easy to understand. Congratulations to Mr. Dukes for his diligent efforts on behalf of the city.”
To earn GFOA recognition, budget documents must meet program criteria and serve effectively as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device.
Approximately 1,600 government organizations nationwide have received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in 2021. In Delaware, in addition to the City of Rehoboth Beach, Sussex County, New Castle County, and the city of Wilmington have historically been recognized.
Rehoboth’s budget for fiscal year 2021, which ends March 31, 2022, is available on the city’s website.
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