FOLEY – The city of Foley is under consideration for another major national recognition of its financial reporting.
Foley is being considered for its fifth consecutive Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. The recognition is one of the three awards the city has received from the GFOA for financial reporting.
Foley has received 10 consecutive Annual Comprehensive Financial Report Awards for its audit report and three consecutive Popular Annual Financial Report Awards for the city’s condensed financial summary.
The three awards together are considered the “Triple Crown,” of financial awards.
Mike Thompson, Foley city administrator, said the awards show that the city’s Financial Department is being recognized for the quality of work that it does.
“ It just never ceases to amaze me the amount of work they put in and the quality work that they do,” Thompson said.
Mayor Ralph Hellmich said city employees have done an outstanding job of dealing with the complex issue of finances.
“ I think it’s something for our city to be proud of.” Hellmich said. “Our department has done an incredibly good job of keeping track of everything and making sure that everything is done in the proper way.”
The mayor said that job has become more complex for the administration and Financial Department as Foley has grown.
“In Mike’s group, under administration, finances, they just do an incredible job,” Hellmich said. “We have a lot of money coming in. We have a lot of money coming out but how we take care of that is the responsibility of our city to our citizens and I think they just do a fantastic job with that. It’s something that we should all be proud of. And it is as transparent as possible. These reports are out on the website, You have the comprehensive reports, the audits, and then you have the report that is a readable copy that the citizens can use and they can understand better so it’s something that you folks should be very proud of because it’s your responsibility to handle the finances.”