AUBURN, Ala.- The City of Auburn's Finance team was recently awarded the Government Finance Officers Association, or GFOA, Triple Crown Award, which recognizes governments that have received the following three prestigious financial awards within the same year: the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, the Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) Award, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

The City was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report; the PAFR award for its Fiscal Year 2024 PAFR; and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its Fiscal Years 2026 & 2027 Biennial Budget document.

“This is a significant achievement that points directly to the caliber of City staff, in this case within the Finance, Budget and Strategic Planning and Human Resources teams,” said Mayor Ron Anders. “They put extraordinary effort into perfecting these documents year after year, reaffirming the City’s commitment to transparency, accountability to the public, excellence in financial reporting and operating a fiscally sound local government while providing high quality public services that our residents desire and expect.”

This is the 39^th year the City has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, which was established by GFOA to encourage state and local governments to go above and beyond the minimum requirements to prepare reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure.

“Our goal is for Auburn citizens to have the information they need to assess the financial health of their city,” said City Manager Megan Crouch. “This is the highest form of recognition for excellence in state and local government financial reporting, and I could not be prouder of our staff and the hard work of our auditors. This recognition is meaningful to us because it underscores the purpose of our financial work — to ensure long-term financial stability of our city while providing quality public services and clear financial reporting to those we serve.”

This is the sixth time the City has received the PAFR Award, which recognizes governments for producing this report to be easily understandable to the general public without a background in finance. Judges review the PAFRs based on reader appeal, understandability, creativity, notable achievements and overall quality and usefulness of the report.

This is the 31^st year the City has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which recognizes high quality budget documents that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on state and local budgeting as well as GFOA’s best practices on budgeting.

To learn more about the City of Auburn’s budgeting process or to see the latest budget documents, visit auburnal.gov/budget. Hard copies of the current PAFR for Fiscal Year 2025 are available at City Hall, located at 144 Tichenor Ave.