The City of Knoxville has received the Government Finance Officers Association's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Budget.

This marks the 20th consecutive year that the city has gotten the award. Mayor Bill Haslam said the award was a confirmation that the city is committed to careful planning and wise use of its funds."We have a budget that's accurate and understandable," Haslam said. "And I want to thank everyone who has a part in putting it together."The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada is a non-profit association that serves more than 16,000 government finance professionals in North America. "We think it reflects on the quality of the work of our staff and all the city departments," said James York, the city's deputy finance director. "It indicates that we meet certain national standards in the preparation of our budget."

According to a Government Finance Officers Association the award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

To receive the award a government entity had to satisfy specific guidelines for effective budget presentation designed to assess how well its budget document served as a policy document; financial plan; operations guide and as a communications device. The budget had to be rated proficient in all four categories for the governing body to receive the award.

The City of Knoxville's FY 2007/2008 Operating Budget defines not only where the city's revenues come from and how it plans to spend the money, but it also gives the reader a snapshot of the city's history, where it is now and where it plans to go.

While the city's budget is several hundred pages long and is a comprehensive document York said the finance department works to make it clear and understandable for people who aren't financial professionals.