THE COMET FINANCIAL TEAM RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS BUDGET AWARD
High honor commends excellence in handling and reporting all funding, including the Richland Penny
(January 15, 2021) Columbia, SC – Government Finance Officers Association recently announced that Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, South Carolina (The COMET), has received GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. The COMET accounting team, led by Rosalyn Andrews, Chief Financial Officer, has won several awards for fiscal excellence further demonstrating excellence in handling and reporting all funding, which includes the Richland Penny.
The award represents a significant achievement by the entity. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as:
- a policy document
- a financial plan
- an operations guide
- a communications device
“We are excited and grateful that our diligence in being good stewards of the Richland Penny and our other funding streams has been recognized with this prestigious honor,” said John Andoh, Executive Director/CEO of The COMET. “We take the public trust to heart and make every effort to be meticulous in handling our funding responsibly and with transparency.”
Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.
When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual(s) or department designated as being primarily responsible for having achieved the award. This has been presented to Finance Department.
There are over 1,600 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA's website. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 20,500 members and the communities they serve.
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About The COMET: The COMET is a service of the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority and provides countywide public transit services on 34 fixed routes, five ReFlex services, vanpool service for commuters, subsidy programs with Uber and Lyft and DART for transportation to grocery stores and at night, ADA complementary paratransit service throughout Richland and portions of Lexington Counties and eight Blue Bike bikeshare stations in Downtown Columbia. The COMET transports approximately 2.8 million passenger trips a year on a fleet of more than 80 buses, vans and trolleys. Transit services are provided under contract with RATP Dev USA, Inc., Enterprise Holdings, Lyft, Uber and Bewegen. For additional The COMET information, please call (803) 255-7100, TDD/TTY: 711 through the relay service, email: info@catchthecomet.org or visit www.catchthecomet.org.
Catch The COMET…We Will Take You There!
