Andover Wins Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

ANDOVER, MA — Andover has won the "Distinguished Budget Presentation Award" from the nationwide Government Finance Officers Association, the town manager announced Thursday. The award was for the town's 2020 budget, presented last February, according to Town Manager Andrew Flanagan's release. The award recognizes governments for following "nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation."

“It is a great honor that the GFOA has chosen to recognize our town once again for our sound budgeting practices,” Flanagan said. “A commitment to fiscal responsibility is shared by our entire team at Town Hall, and this award is shared by everyone who contributes to Andover’s town budget process year after year.”

The Town of Andover 2020 Budget is available here.

According to the release, the budgeting guidelines are designed to assess how well a budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.

"Budget documents had to be rated proficient in all four categories and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories," the release said.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.