City of Colton earns top finance award

At the recent City Council meeting this month the city’s Finance Department was recognized for being awarded an official “Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting” by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), a national oversight agency with the mission of advancing excellence in public finance.

This Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by local government and its management.  The specific basis for this award was the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.  The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story with total transparency.

The GFOA organization is comprised of public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. The Association’s more than 20,000 members are federal, state/provincial, and local finance officials deeply involved in planning, financing, and implementing thousands of governmental operations.  Two of their principle goals are to identify principles of economy and efficiency in government, and to develop and encourage the use of uniform standards and procedures.

The Department Director for the City of Colton is Stacey Dabbs, who has been with the City since March 2015.  She leads a Department that includes four divisions; Finance Administration, Information Services, Customer Services (Utility Billing), and Purchasing. The finance division is the one that is most directly involved in the maintenance and development of all financial documents pertaining to the City, including the CAFR. The individuals involved are Stacey Dabbs, Finance Director; Paula Majors, Finance Manager; Katherine Myers, Senior Accountant; Theresa Jallorina, Contract Accountant; Lisa Hunt, Account Technician II; Brandon Norris, Account Technician II; Lisa Villa, Payroll Technician II; Michelle Althesier, Payroll Analyst; and Kenneth Jang, Accountant. Director Stacey Dabbs reflects on her team saying, “The Finance Administration Division is a wonderful team of talented and dedicated professionals. Our strength is in our commitment to serving the community and our colleagues.”

The City of Colton is fortunate to have such a talented award-winning Finance team to keep our city fiscally sound. We have an amazing team of Finance professionals and have developed fiscal and reserve policies under the leadership of Director Dabbs, which subsequently have been adopted by the City Council. As a result, the General Fund budget has been balanced, and the City is working diligently to ensure all fiscal obligations, both current and future, are addressed, thus ensuring the long-term financial health of the City. Congratulations to our City Finance Department for an award recognition well-deserved.

For more information about CITY TALK, various community groups, the trash clean-up, or the online live-stream programs, contact Dr. G @ 213-3730.  Questions and comments are always welcome.