Lake Butler Community Page News Tidbits

By Jack Schecnk

For the second year in a row, and for only the second time in the City of Lake Butler’s history, it has received the Government Financial Officer’s Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Financial Officers Association, founded in 1906.

To put this in perspective, all local governments are eligible for review. There are approximately 89.004 local governments in the United States, including counties, municipalities and school boards.

The award was established in 1984 to encourage and assist state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s best practices on budgeting and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. To earn recognition, budget documents must meet program criteria and excel as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communication tool. Budgets submitted for consideration are reviewed anonymously by three professors and/or practicing chief financial officers or city managers.

In 2020, only 1,701 local governments received the award, 1.158 of which were cities and little ole’ Lake Butler was one of them.

The budget may be viewed in the Financial section of the City of Lake Butler web site. I would like to express my appreciation for everything our City Manager and Deputy City Manager have done to achieve this award for the City.

As an aside, Sara Owen, has achieved her goal of becoming a International City Management Association Credentialed Manager, ICMA-CM. She previously became a Certified Municipal Clerk in 2018.