City Achieves GFOA ‘Triple Crown’ for Financial Reporting

Published on September 04, 2025

Fairfax City has achieved a new milestone in financial reporting: a third award from an international government finance officer association for its newest financial report.

This year, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has recognized Fairfax City’s FY 2024 Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) with the PAFR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting.

This award bestows the city with a “triple crown” from the GFOA, which has recognized the city’s annual budget with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for 31 consecutive years and the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) with the Certificate in Financial Reporting for 44 consecutive years.

“This is a first in the city's history, and a significant milestone in our continued pursuit of excellence in public financial management,” said Fairfax City Chief Financial Officer JC Martinez.

This was the first year the city published the PAFR, a 16-page report that spotlights the city’s strategic plan, economics, demographics, and fiscal features. The report was evaluated on reader appeal, understandability, distribution method, creativity, and other elements.

Fairfax City Budget Director Gwen L. Riddle said, “This award affirms the city’s dedication to transparency and accountability to its citizens. The PAFR provides a summarized schedule of the city’s funding and expenses in a manner people can understand, much like their own finances.”

Mayor Catherine Read said, “With this award, GFOA recognizes the outstanding achievement by our local government to provide transparency to our community about our city’s finances. We are fortunate to have staff so committed to constant improvement on behalf of our residents.”

GFOA is a professional organization for finance officers in state and local governments in the U.S. and Canada, whose mission is to advance excellence in public finance.

All three award-winning publications are available online. The city encourages people to read them to better understand city finances and remain engaged with the city.

Click here to read the FY 2024 PAFR(PDF, 8MB).
Click here to read the FY 2024 ACFR(PDF, 3MB).
Click here to read the FY 2026 adopted city budget(PDF, 61MB).