New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The City of New Bedford has been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award (2018), for the third consecutive year, for its current budget by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Only 26 Massachusetts municipalities and districts, and 1,576 entities nationwide, received the award in 2017. The award represents a continued achievement by the City and reflects the City’s ongoing efforts to improve business operations and increase transparency in city finances.
“New Bedford’s third consecutive award affirms our collective effort over the last several years to better manage city finances and increase transparency,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “I am grateful to the City Council, our city finance team led by Chief Financial Officer Ari Sky, and all of our department heads for the teamwork it takes to make this happen.”
Examples of changes designed to make city government more accessible and transparent include New Bedford Open Checkbook, a searchable online database of the City of New Bedford’s accounts payable activity that is open to the public, and program performance measurement and fiscal policies adopted by the Mayor and City Council.
According to the notification of the award from GFOA, “The award represents a significant achievement by the [City]. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as: a policy document; a financial plan; an operations guide; [and] a communications device.”
Chief Financial Officer Ari Sky said, “I thank the finance team and all the City employees who made this third Distinguished Budget Presentation Award possible. New Bedford will continue to improve our business operations by keeping the City’s focus on efficiency and transparency for the benefit of all residents.”
