City of Monroe Recognized for Exemplary Budgeting Practices

At the July Monroe City Council meeting, Mayor Greg Thompson presented the city’s finance director with a plaque recognizing her contributions to the financial health of the city. This was as a result of the city being awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.

“It is always my pleasure to brag on the City of Monroe,” Thompson said, going on to say that Finance Director Renee Prather was a worthy recipient of the honor. “She goes above and beyond in her service to the city.”

In a letter to the city notifying it of the honor, Stephen J. Gauthier, director of technical services of the GFOA, named Prather as being the person primarily responsible for the city receiving the award.

“This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting and represents a significant achievement by your organization,” Gauthier wrote, going on to add, “Through your example, we hope that other entities will be encouraged to achieve excellence in budgeting.”

City Administrator Matthew Chancey gave some background to the award, explaining that some 1,400 government entities in the U.S. and Canada apply to participate in the program each year. This was the first time the city had applied to be adjudicated on its budget practices through the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award program.

“To be selected on our first shot at it speaks volumes,” Chancey said.

According to the GFOA website, benefits to being a recipient of this award include the likelihood of credit rating agencies and other interested parties seeing the award as a positive factor when making financial decisions concerning the city.