City of Albuquerque Financial Transparency Earns Certificate of Excellence
March 27, 2020
One part of Mayor Tim Keller’s ongoing efforts to make city government more accessible to the public is by bringing transparency and accountability to public funds. The City of Albuquerque’s Fiscal Year 2019 Citizen-Centric Report is a financial transparency report highlighting key measures of progress, revenues, expenditures, and investments. Today, that report earned a Certificate of Excellence from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), a member organization for government financial management professionals.
Mayor Tim Keller said, “From bringing transparency to the management of taxpayer dollars to a major overhaul of our public records systems, we’ve made breaking down the barriers around City Hall a core issue. This national recognition of our efforts to make information more accessible to the public shows that we’re on the right track. I’m proud of our financial team’s efforts as we make city government more open than ever.”
In the four page report (read it here), the City provides a high-level overview and then dives into detail on FY19 results, financial data, and upcoming challenges in a way that is clear and easy to understand.
It focuses on accomplishments in FY19, including increasing the number of sworn officers to 964, doubling opportunities for youth to stay engaged, and marks the fact that, before the Coronavirus pandemic took hold, the economy had finally returned to pre-Great Recession strength.
On Friday, City Controller Pamela Fanelli, who produced Albuquerque’s Citizen-Centric Report, will be recognized with the One Albuquerque Award by Mayor Keller for her work to advance the City’s core values around transparency and access to information.
“In today’s era of tight budgets, choices must be made and governments must be transparent to citizens about their decisions. CCRs are a useful tool in helping Americans become more active and better-informed voters,” said AGA CEO Ann Ebberts. “AGA applauds Albuquerque’s commitment to good government and responsible fiscal action reflected in the CCR they produced. CCRs help citizens better understand the services provided by their government – and at what cost.”