Pittsfield Wins Distinguished Budget Award For A Fourth Year

For the fourth year in a row, the city of Pittsfield has won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the compilation of its fiscal year 2021 budget, according to a press release from the City of Pittsfield and the Mayor's Office.

The awards are presented by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).

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According to a news release from the association, the award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

The city had to meet and be rated proficient in nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation in order to receive the award. These guidelines are designed to assess how well a budget serves as a financial plan, operations guide, policy document, and communications device.

City of Pittsfield Finance Director Matthew Kerwood said winning this year's award was especially poignant:

Given the challenges of putting together the fiscal year 2021 budget due to the pandemic, I am pleased that GFOA has again recognized our budget as a document of excellence. As we begin the fiscal year 2022 budget process we will work to build off the GFOA's recommendations for further improvement in our budget book as an important policy document for the city.

There are more than 1,600 participants in the association’s Budget Awards Program. The most recent award winners are posted quarterly on the Government Finance Officers Association's website.

Pittsfield was first selected for the award in 2017.