The Government Finance Officers Association is recognizing Arlington's Popular Annual Financial Report for its outstanding achievement for the fifth year in a row.

The Popular Annual Financial Report, also known as the PAFR, is a citizen friendly financial report that uses narrative and art to explain the information found in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, to people without a finance background. Both are published at the same time each year.

"Citizens can see what the City has accomplished for the year with their tax dollars [by looking at the PAFR]," said Assistant Director of Finance Sherry Wright. "At a glance, they can see that the City is healthy, and that the economic policies are working."

The PAFR is an optional document that is becoming more popular among governments because of its usefulness in communicating a city's progress to its citizens.

This isn't the first time Arlington has been recognized for excellent communication of its financial position. The City has won an award from the GFOA for each PAFR it has published, beginning with the 2008 fiscal year, and was one of only 13 organizations in Texas to receive the award last year. The City's CAFRs have also won GFOA awards 35 times.

Additionally, Arlington's finance department has been a recipient of the Texas Comptroller's Leadership Circle Gold Award, which recognizes exceptional local governments for their financial transparency to citizens.

To receive the GFOA Award for Outstanding Achievement, a City's PAFR had to receive a weighted average score of 75 percent or higher from the judges. Arlington's score was 92. Half of a PAFR's score is based on reader appeal, understandability, distribution methods, and other factors like creativity and notable achievements. The remaining half is based on overall quality and usefulness of the report.