Office of the Mayor Budget Office Receives GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

The Office of the Mayor Budget Office received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fulfillment of nationally recognized guidelines for effective presentation in its budget documents.

The award represents a significant achievement by the County of Maui’s Budget Office, led by Budget Director Michele Yoshimura and dedicated staff Kristina Cabbat, Shirley Blackburn, Wendy Nathan, Arthur Suyama and Melissa Agtunong.

According to the GFOA, “the award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as: a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.”

To receive the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories.

“I congratulate Budget Director Yoshimura and her hardworking staff Kristina, Wendy, Shirley, Arthur and Melissa for earning this important award from the Government Finance Officers Association,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “This is much-deserved recognition from peers in government financial management. We use our budget to plan, guide policy and remain accountable to the public. My administration looks forward to presenting its proposed Fiscal 2021-2022 budget on March 25.”

The GFOA reports that there are over 1,600 participants in the Budget Awards Program.