The City of Foley has once again been recognized on the national stage for its financial reporting, earning what officials describe as a rare “triple crown” distinction for the sixth time.

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada announced Thursday, Feb. 12, that Foley’s Finance Department received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The honor marks the seventh consecutive year the city has earned the recognition.

In addition, Foley has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 12 years and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting six times. Receiving all three awards in the same year is known as the “triple crown,” a feat achieved by only five of Alabama’s 466 cities, according to Mayor Ralph Hellmich.

“Of the 466 cities in Alabama, only five have received this significant triple crown award,” Hellmich said. “Foley is one of them and that's really, really special for our city.”

The awards are presented by the GFOA, a professional association that represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. More than 1,900 cities and other entities participate in its Budget Awards Program.

In a statement, the GFOA praised Foley’s commitment to high standards in budgeting.

“It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting,” the statement said. “In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.”

Those guidelines evaluate how effectively a city’s budget functions as a policy statement, financial plan, operations guide and communications device. To qualify, Foley’s budget had to be rated “proficient” in each of the four categories and meet 14 mandatory criteria.

Hellmich said the recognition underscores the time and effort city employees dedicate to financial planning each year.

“It's an incredible amount of work and time that they have to put in to do this,” Hellmich said. “All cities have to do an audit, but all cities don't achieve this level of transparency and that's what's so important about it.”

He added that public access to financial information remains a priority.

“I think that's a really important aspect in this day and time with the citizens asking the council about it and everybody talking about government transparency,” Hellmich said. “I don't know how much more transparent you can be.”

Finance Director Miranda Bell said the achievement reflects cooperation across city government.

“It's a city effort,” Bell said. “The budget process in general is not something we can do alone. You have to have buy-in from your elected officials and the administration and leadership and you need the support from the directors. You have to have cooperation from the bottom up.”

In addition to the GFOA honors, Foley received a Certificate of Excellence for Continuing Disclosure Reporting from Digital Assurance Certification. The certificate recognizes the city’s full compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure rules for the past 11 years.