Portland gets kudos for budget transparency

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada — or GFOA for short (I guess the acronym police didn’t enforce the part about the U.S. and Canada) — has given Portland its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, an award with a name about as painful to read through as government finance documents themselves.

But in all seriousness, Portland city officials should be proud of this certificate, and according to the city, Portland has been recognized by the aforementioned GFOA annually now for about a decade. That means while this award isn’t novel, it’s important to remind residents of the city that their government’s books are accessible.

The city announcement of the certificate claims Portland’s “comprehensive annual report was evaluated by an impartial panel and found to meet the highest standards, demonstrating a spirit of full disclosure by clearly communicating its financial story to the public.”

City Manager Mark Rees

Here’s a statement on the subject issued by City Manager Mark Rees:

When it comes to how the city manages its finances, transparency is key. Open and accessible financial reporting helps the city establish a trusting relationship with the public and it’s a testament of the hard work of city’s finance team, led by Finance Director Ellen Sanborn, that Portland continues to receive the highest recognition for our accounting and reporting.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.