City Finance Department Awarded for Tranparency

The City of San Angelo has earned the Gold Leadership Circle Award from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for its efforts to give local taxpayers a transparent view of how their tax dollars are spent.

The comptroller’s office tracks the financial transparency of local governments statewide, recommending they post key financial documents online, including the annual budget, financial reports and check registers. State Comptroller Susan Combs launched the Leadership Circle program in 2009 to recognize governments that meet a high standard for financial transparency online.

Specifically, the comptroller spotlights local governments that:

• Open their books to the public.
• Provide clear, consistent pictures of spending.
• Share information in a user-friendly format that lets taxpayers easily drill down for more information.

The Leadership Circle Award is the second such recognition the City’s Finance Department has garnered this year. Last month, the Budget Division received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the City’s 2013-14 fiscal year budget from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

The City Council will recognize the latest award at its July 1 meeting by congratulating Finance Director Tina Bunnell, Budget Manager Morgan Chegwidden, Senior Budget Analyst Jeremy Miller and Chief Accountant Jaime Guerrero on their efforts.

Last year, the Finance Department won the Silver Award. This year it qualified for the Gold Award, which highlights entities the comptroller’s office deems as “setting the bar with their transparency efforts,” by posting the City’s check registers online.

“We are always looking for ways to increase public knowledge and participation in City business; this is a great step in that direction,” Bunnell said. “This honor confirms the Finance Department is doing an excellent job of making our financial records available to the public. We encourage our citizens to explore our Financial Transparency website and invite any questions about the City’s finances.”