SEPTA has received a top transit industry award for the presentation of its Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget, which has been recognized for its detail, clarity, and transparency.

For the eighteenth consecutive year, SEPTA’s Operating Budget earned the “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving nearly 18,000 government finance professionals throughout North America.

Recipients were required to meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. GFOA assesses the effectiveness of each agency’s budget as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.

SEPTA has enhanced its budget document over the years, supplementing core data with charts and graphs to help explain details about funding, revenue, and expenses. The Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget included a new intro section emphasizing SEPTA’s value proposition to the region, key performance indicators on industry best practices, and streamlined sections for easier-to-understand descriptions of basis-for-budgeting practices. A one-page highlights sheet and a recording of the budget hearing were also shared online as additional resources for the public.

SEPTA’s Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget, as well as plans from other recent years, are available for viewing and downloading here.

-via Press Release