January 30, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) recently honored SEPTA with its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This marks the second year in a row that SEPTA has received the award.

The award, presented to SEPTA for its Operating Budget, reflects the Authority’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

To win the award SEPTA had to meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The guidelines are designed to assess how well a budget serves in the following respects: as a policy document; a financial plan; an operations guide, and a communications device. It was essential that budget documents be rated “proficient” in all four categories to receive the honor.

A Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation was also presented to SEPTA employees David R. Burman, Management Analyst, and Frank P. Gormley, Director, Operating Budgets, for their efforts in developing the budget document.

In addition, in the midst of a significant prospective budget deficit and a continuing funding crisis, SEPTA was lauded by the state for the management of its budget. One of the key findings in the recently released Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission Report stated that, “(SEPTA) is keenly focused on management of (its) operating budget”.