5.9. SR 01-16-1996"'ity of
ITEM 5.9.
MEMORANDUM
'ver
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor & City Council
Pat Klaers, City Administ~r~t~or
It is with great pleasure that I notify the City Council that the City of Elk River has
received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Report for the
1994 fiscal year. A plaque will be received within the next two months. Once this
plaque acknowledging the Certificate of Achievement is received by the city, a
formal Mayor presentation to the Assistant City Administrator is planned. In this
manner, a "photo opportunity" will hopefully happen and appropriate recognition for
the Finance Department and the Assistant City Administrator, Lori Johnson, can
take place.
Attached is some information relating to the Certificate of Achievement (COA). The
attachments include a letter to the Mayor, a certificate, a news release, and some
information from a booklet that was provided to the city that shows which
governmental units in Minnesota have received the certificate, along with some data
about Minnesota as compared to all of the United States.
The COA is a prestigious national award recognizing conformance with the highest
standards for preparation of state and local government financial reports. In order
to be awarded a COA, a government unit must publish an easily readable and
efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report whose components
conform to program standards. Such comprehensive annual financial reports must
satisfy both generally accepted accounting principals and applicable legal
requirements.
A COA is valid for a period of one year. The City of Elk river has received a COA for
the last six (6) consecutive years ending December 31, 1994.
Assistant City Administrator Lori Johnson is the individual that is primarily
responsible for having the city earn this certificate. It is also appropriate to
acknowledge the work of the Finance Department staff as they have assisted Lori in
the background work needed in order to receive this award.
It is interesting to note that in 1989, of the approximately 850 cities in Minnesota,
the City of Elk river was one of only 48 that received this award. In 1994, the City
of Elk River is one of the 69 cities in Minnesota to receive this award. Accordingly,
the importance of achieving this award has been emphasized throughout Minnesota
and the nation as more and more municipalities are striving to be in compliance
with the GFOA standards.
This item is on the agenda as information only and no action is necessary by the
Council.
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
GOVERNMENT FINANCE
OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
180 North Michigan Avenue, Suite SO0, Chicago, Illinois 60601
312/977-9700 · Fax: ;312/977-4S06
December 29, 1995
The Honorable Henry Duitsman
Mayor
City of Elk River
P.O. Box 490
Elk River, Minnesota 55330
Dear Mayor Duitsman:
We are pleased to notify you that your comprehensive annual finan-
cial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1994 qualifies
for a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of
recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting,
and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a
government and its management.
When a Certificate of Achievement is awarded to a government, an
Award of Financial Reporting Achievement is also presented to the
individual designated by the government as primarily responsible
for its having earned the certificate. Enclosed is an Award of
Financial Reporting Achievement for: Lori Johnson,
Finance Director.
The Certificate of Achievement plaque will be shipped under sepa-
rate cover in about eight weeks. We hope that you will arrange for
a formal presentation of the Certificate and Award of Financial
Reporting Achievement, and that appropriate publicity will be
given to this notable achievement. To assist with this, a sample
news release and the 1994 Certificate Program results are enclosed.
We hope that your example will encourage other government offi-
cials in their efforts to achieve and maintain an appropriate
standard of excellence in financial reporting.
Sincerely,
GOVERNMENT FINANC~ OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Stephen J. Gauthier
Director/Technical Services Center
SJG/kas
Enclosures
WASHINGTON OFFICE
1750 K Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20006
202/466-2750 · Fax: 202/429-2755
The Government Finance Officers Association
of the United States and Canada
AWARD
presents this
OF FINANCIAL REPORTING ACHIEVEMENT
to:
Lori Johnson
Finance. Director
City of Elk River. Minnesota
The Award of Financial Reporting Achievement is presented by the Government Finance
Officers Association to those individuals who have been instrumental in their
government unit achieving a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting. A Cert~cate of Achievement is presented to those government units whose
annual financial reports are judged to adhere to program standards and represents the
highest award in government financial reporting.
Executive Eh'rector
December 29, 1995
GOVERNMENT FINANCE
OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
180 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60601
312/977-9700 · Fax: 312/977-4806
December 29, 1995
For information contact:
NEWS RELEASE Stephen Gauthier (312) 977-9700
(Chicago)--The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Finan-
cial Reporting has been awarded to:
CITY OF ELK RIVER
by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States
and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report
(CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of
recognition in the area of governmental accounting and finan-
cial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant
accomplishment by a government and its management.
An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has been awarded
to the individual designated as primarily responsible for
preparing the award-winning CAFR. This has been presented to:
LORI JOHNSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR
The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the
high standards of the program including demonstrating a construc-
tive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its
financial story and motivate potential users and user groups
to read the CAFR.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving
12,625 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago,
Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
- 30 -
WASHINGTON OFFICE
1750 K Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20006
202/466-2750 · Fax: 202/429-2755
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN
FINANCIAL REPORTING
Government Finance Officers Association
'-- ' -'.. 1994 RESULTS
The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting is an award designed to recognize and encourage
excellence in financial reporting by state and local ·
governments. The attainment ora Certificate of Achievement
represents a significant accomplishment for a government and
its management. -. - ,
The Certificate &Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting Program(Certificate Program) was established by the
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) in 1945.
The GFOA instituted the program to encourage all government
units to prepare and publish an easibly readable and
understandable comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR)
coveting all funds and financial transactions &the government
with GAAP. These reports are also required to have'been
audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards, with the auditor taking at least an "in relation to"
responsibility for combining, individual fund and account
group presentations. To earn a Certificate of Achievement, a
CAFR should give a clear and thorough view of the
government's finances. Award-winning reports should enhance
the reader's understanding of the information required by
GAAP for fair presentation of the financial statements, be
efficiently organized and adhere to certain generally accepted
terminology and formatting conventions. The Certificate
Program provides participants with extensive technical_,
reference material on governmental accounting and financial
reporting theory. This material provides finance officials with
during the fiscal year. The GFOA believes that governments the tools they need to improve their financial reporting
have a special responsibility to provide the public with a fair ''' .' ..':. techniques. ~ .... .:,..., ':, '
presentation of their financial affairs. CAFRs go beyond the :' :;'. :-; :, ~', . :' ,.. ,' :?~:,..-':.,._:
requirements of generally accepted accounting principles~
(GAAP) to provide the many users of government financial
statements with a wide variety of information useful in
evaluating the financial condition of a government. '
To be eligible for a Certificate &Achievement, a report must
be the published CAFR of a unit of government or a public
employee retirement system. Eligible CAFRs must include
general purpose financial statements presented in conformity
To participate in the Certificate Program, government units
must complete an application form and submit four copies of
their CAF1L with the appropriate fee, to the GFOA for review
by the Certificate Program's Special Review Committee.
Applications can be obtained from the GFOA's Certificate i.:.
Program staff in Chicago (312/977-9700). Submissions must
be postmarked within six months of the government's fiscal
year end. .
AWARD WINNERS FOR THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED IN 1993
MINNESOTA
Albert Lea
Anoka
Anoka County
Austin
Blaine
Bloomington
Blue Earth County
Brainerd
Breckenridge
Brooklyn Center
Brooklyn Park
Champlin
Chanhassen
Chaska
Columbia Heights
Coon Rapids
Cottage Grove
Dakota County
Deephaven
Detroit Lakes
Duluth
Eagan
East Grand Forks
Eden Prairie
Elk River
Fairmont
Falcon Heights
Faribault
Fergus Falls
Fridley
Golden Valley
Goodview
Grand Rapids
Hennepin County
Hopkins
Hugo
lnver Grove Heights
Lakeville
Mahtomedi
Mankato
Maple Grove
Maplewood
Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities
Area
Metropolitan Transit Commission
Metropolitan Waste Control Commission
Minneapolis
Minneapolis Employees Retirement
Fund
Minneapolis Fire Department
Relief Association
Minneapolis Library Board
Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan
Airports Commission
Minnesota Public Employees
Retirement Association
Minnetonka
Moorhead
Mora
Morris
Mound
New Brighton
New Hope
North Mankato
North Saint Paul
Oakdale
OImsted County
Orono
Plymouth
Ramsey County
Regional Transit Board
Rice County
Richfield
Robbinsdale
Rochester
Roseville
Saint Cloud
Saint Louis County
Saint Louis Park
Saint Paul
Saint Paul Housing and
Redevelopment Authority
Shakopee
Sherbume County
Shoreview
Shorewood
State of Minnesota
Steams County
Stillwater
Suburban Hennepin Regional
Park District
Waseca
Washington County
Wayzata
West Saint Paul
Western Lake Superior Sanitary
District
White Bear Lake
Willernie
Winona
Worthington
Reporls Submitted and Certificates Awnrded
For Fiscal Years Ended in 1993,1992 and 1991
Special Review Committee and Members
at ~31,1994 and 1993
FY 93 Reports FY 92 Reports FY 91 Reports
Processed in 1994 Processed in 1993 Processed in 1992
Submt*,~io~n Awardq Submissions Award.q Submissions Awardn
SRC SRC
1994 1993
Alabama 13 12 12 12 12 11 3 1
Alaska 18 18 17 16 15 15 2 2
American Samoa 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
Arizona 82 80 73 73 65 62 15 15
Arkansas 6 6 5 5 5 5 2 2
Califomia 218 211 204 194 189 172 54 52
Colorado 83 82 80 77 82 79 25 26
Connecticut 39 39 34 34 33 33 7 7
Delaware 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
District of Columbia 2 2 2 2 2 2 9 10
Florida 172 170 168 163 158 153 79 72
Georgia 60 60 58 53 58 54 19 15
Hawaii 6 6 6 5 5 5 1 I
Idaho 10 9 9 8 8 7 2 3
Illinois 154 150 144 139 140 132 45 36
Indiana 23 21 21 20 21 21 12 10
Iowa 30 27 25 24 24 23 8 7
Kansas 28 26 25 23 22 20 3 3
Kentucky 15 15 14 13 15 12 3 3
Louisiana 28 28 26 24 26 25 10 8
Maine 5 5 3 2 3 1 1 2
Maryland 31 30 32 30 30 29 16 13
Massachusetts 4 4 4 3 2 2 7 7
Michigan 59 56 55 53 52 50 12 12
Minnesota 96 93 91 90 87 86 33 33
Mississippi 6 5 5 5 5 4 0 0
Missouri 53 52 54 51 46 45 18 19
Montana 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 7
Nebraska 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 7
Nevada 21 21 21 21 21 21 10 10
New Hampshire 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 3
New Jersey 4 4 3 3 2 1 4 5
New Mexico 5 5 4 4 3 3 1 1
New York 43 40 43 42 42 38 26 21
North Carolina 107 100 92 89 86 82 17 16
North Dakota 5 5 6 3 5 4 7 8
Ohio 178 172 161 157 145 142 60 54
Oklahoma 22 20 18 18 11 9 7 7
Oregon 94 93 83 81 71 69 18 17
Pennsylvania 44 43 46 40 41 33 19 17
Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Rhode Island 6 6 7 7 8 7 6 5
South Carolina 49 42 39 34 41 39 12 11
South Dakota 4 4 4 3 3 3 0 0
Tennessee 26 24 24 23 22 20 8 9
Texas 261 249 251 241 235 223 58 60
Utah 28 26 24 23 24 23 8 10
Vermom 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Virginia 72 70 66 65 63 61 22 21
Washington 52 45 50 47 47 45 22 24
West Virginia 3 2 2 2 3 2 5 5
Wisconsin 32 30 26 25 22 18 9 8
Wyoming 11 11 9 9 9 9 6 4
TOTAL 2330 2240 2168 2078 2031 1921 732 693
34
Municipal
County
Alabama 11
Alaska 6 5
American Samoa -
Arizona 23 4
Arkansas 6 -
Califomia 159 16
Colorado 35 15
Connecticut 32 -
Delaware 2 1
Dist. of Columbia
Florida 115 32
Georgia 36 15
Hawaii - 4
Idaho 3 3
Illinois 86 10
Indiana 8 2
Iowa 19 2
Kansas 15 4
Kentucky 9 2
Louisiana 6 3
Maine 5
Maryland 11 10
Massachusetts 2 -
Michigan 39 10
Minnesota 69 11
Mississippi 3 -
Certificates Awarded
For Reporting Entity F~scal Years Ended in 1993
and Processed by GFOA in Calendar Year 1994
School Council of
Distriqt Enterprises Government State
17
1
2
3
2
10
1
3
3
15
1
1
17
5
1
1
15
3
5
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
PERS
1
4
1
14
1
1
1
Colleges
and
Univ.
2
Other
1
17
6
3
5
1
20
3
1
1
1
2
4
12
80
6
211
82
39
3
2
170
6O
6
9
150
21
27
26
15
28
5
30
4
56
93
Missouri 35 6
Montana 3 2
Nebraska 5
Nevada 7 2
New Hampshire 2
New Jersey 1
New Mexico 2 1
New York 22 6
North Carolina 48 34
North Dakota 3 1
Ohio 82 31
Oklahoma 9 1
Oregon 36 11
Pennsylvania 16 10
Rhode Island 6 -
South Carolina 18 11
South Dakota 4 -
Tennessee 16 4
Texas 137 34
Utah 15 2
Vermont -
Virginia 33 14
Washington 22 8
',Vest Virginia - .
nrisconsin 12 9
Wyoming 7 :2
3
1
2
4
17
38
2
24
10
4
36
6
6
2
3
3
3
1
1
5
4
2
2
2
2
13
13
9
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
5
6
1
1
2
1
5
1
4
- 52
7
7
6 21
3
4
- 5
1 40
- 100
- 5
8 172
1 20
13 93
2 43
1 42
- 4
- 24
16 249
1 26
70
1 45
1 2
3 30
- 11
Statement of Operations
Reports Submitted and Certificates Awarded
For Fiscal Years Ended in 1993,1992,1991, and 1990
FY 93 Reports FY 92 Reports FY 91 Reports
By Type of Processed in 1994 Processed in 1993 Processed in 1992
~ Submi.~ions Award~ Submi.~ions Award~ Submissions Award~
Municipal 1288 1241 1226 1171
County 346 338 343 325
School Dislrict 292 271 251 243
Enterprise 130 129 116 114
Council of Govts. 16 16 18 18
State 32 28 27 24
PERS 82 77 72 69
Colleges and Universities 21 21 15 14
Other 123 119 100 100
TOTAL REPORTS 2330 2240
By Fiscal Year End
January 0 0 0 0
February 9 9 9 9
March 12 12 13 12
April 86 83 81 79
May 9 8 8 8
June 1144 1098 1025 981
July 6 6 5 5
August 59 52 57 57
September 392 378 378 362
October 4 4 4 4
November 8 8 8 8
~.~.ember _60.t 582 580 553
TOTAL REPORTS 2330 2240
2168 2078
FY 90 Reports
Processed in 1991
Submt~iottn Awardn
1173 1105 1090 1017
322 308 303 283
227 215 190 177
98 93 86 85
16 16 14 14
26 24 24 22
67 66 59 59
6 5 0 0
96 89 88 81
0 0 0 0
8 8 8 8
12 9 10 9
79 74 70 67
8 7 8 7
942 882 842 776
5 5 5 4
52 49 48 45
360 345 344 327
4 4 1 1
7 7 7 7
554 531 511 487
36
City and County Relx)rts Submitted ('mduding ineli~'ble reporls) for Fiscal Years Ended in 1993
Compared to To(al Cities and Counties
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Iississippi
Cities
Counties
% %
Units* Submitters Submit Units* Submitters Submit
438 12 2.74 67 0 0.00
148 6 4.05 12 5 41.67
86 25 29.07 15 4 26.67
489 6 1.23 75 0 0.00
460 164 35.65 57 16 28.07
266 35 13.16 62 15 24.19
178 32 17.98 0 0 0.00
57 2 3.51 3 1 33.33
390 116 29.74 66 32 48.48
536 36 6.72 157 15 9.55
1 0 0.00 4 4 100.00
199 3 1.51 44 4 9.09
2715 88 3.24 102 10 9.80
1574 10 0.64 91 2 2.20
952 22 2.31 99 2 2.02
1980 16 0.81 105 4 3.81
435 9 2.07 119 2 1.68
301 6 1.99 61 3 4.92
490 5 1.02 16 0 0.00
155 12 7.74 23 10 43.48
351 2 0.57 12 0 0.00
1776 41 2.31 83 11 13.25
2657 71 2.67 87 11 12.64
294 4 1.36 82 0 0.00
1257 35 2.78 114 6 5.26
128 4 3.13 54 2 3.70
986 5 0.51 93 0 0.00
18 7 38.89 16 2 12.50
234 2 0.85 10 0 0.00
567 1 0.18 21 0 0.00
98 2 2.04 33 1 3.03
1548 23 1.49 57 6 10.53
516 50 9.69 100 34 34.00
1714 3 0.18 53 1 1.89
2256 84 3.72 88 32 36.36
588 9 1.53 77 2 2.60
239 36 15.06 36 11 30.56
2570 17 0.66 66 10 15.15
39 6 15.38 0 0 0.00
269 21 7.81 46 12 26.09
1279 4 0.31 64 0 0.00
339 18 5.31 93 4 4.30
1171 142 12.13 254 35 13.78
228 16 7.02 29 3 10.34
287 0 0.00 14 0 0.00
230 35 15.22 95 14 14.74
268 25 9.33 39 9 23.08
231 0 0.00 55 0 0.00
1849 13 0.70 72 9 12.50
9'/ 7 7.22 23 2 8.70
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
tisconsin
6tyoming
TOTAL 35,934 1,288 3.58
*Source: 1992 Census of Governments
Cities include cities, municipalities, villages and townships.
3,043 346 11.37
37