Medford Receives “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for Fiscal Year 2026 Municipal Budget

The City has received its third “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the Fiscal Year 2026 municipal budget, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. The Finance and Communications departments compiled the application materials and submitted the FY26 budget for consideration in September 2025, and the GFOA awards were announced in December 2025. The City had previously won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its Fiscal Year 2021 and 2025 budgets. 

“I am so proud of our team for securing this prestigious award for the second year in a row,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. “This recognition from the GFOA shows that our financial policies and procedures are putting the City and its taxpayers on sound fiscal footing and ensuring that we are well positioned for the future.”  

According to the GFOA, the award “represents a significant achievement” by a municipality that “reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”  

By winning this prestigious award, the City of Medford has “pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America,” the GFOA wrote in its award letter. 

“Compiling the FY26 budget was a daunting task that required a lot of cross-departmental collaboration,” Finance Director Bob Dickinson said. “I’m thrilled that the GFOA recognized the work that went into producing this document. I thank the Mayor for setting this goal and the partnership by the staff, especially the Communications team, led by Communications Director Steve Smirti and Communications Specialist Emma Twombly, who worked to achieve it.”  

The award-winning Fiscal Year 2026 Municipal Budget is available to view here.