SPARKS — The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has announced that the city of Sparks has received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget process for fiscal year 2008-2009.

The award represents a significant achievement by the city.  It reflects the commitment of the Sparks City Council, City Manager Shaun Carey, Finance Director Tom Minton and the entire financial staff in meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.  Sparks is one of six cities in Nevada to receive the award.

“This accomplishment was made possible through the commitment of the Sparks City Council, which established the city of Sparks strategic goals and priorities and has been steadfast in seeing through a budget that protects the integrity of public funds,” Carey said. “Additionally, our city’s department heads have worked hard to develop business plans that have enabled us to reach our budget priorities during these difficult economic times by doing more with less.  They are to be commended.”

To receive the award, Sparks had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.  The guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and communications guide.