Date: Feb. 19, 2004

Water district recognized for quality of its budget documents

SAN JOSE – It’s not on the New York Times bestseller list, doesn’t have much of a plot and isn’t what you might think of as reader-friendly.

Yet the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s 2002-2003 budget has received an award for its dedication to meeting strict principles of governmental budgeting.

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada awarded the district its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award – the seventh consecutive year the honor has been bestowed on the water district.

“This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting and represents a significant achievement by your organization,” Stephen J. Gauthier, director of GFOA’s Technical Services Center, said in a letter to water district CEO Stan Williams.

To be eligible for the budget award, governmental agencies have to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit association serving 14,000 governmental finance professionals throughout North America. GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages Santa Clara County's wholesale drinking water resources, coordinates flood protection for its 1.7 million residents and provides stewardship for the county's 10 reservoirs and more than 800 miles of streams.