City of Port Townsend wins a finance award

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 28, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — The city of Port Townsend has received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its 2026 document.

The national honor recognizes the city’s commitment to financial transparency and its success in transforming a standard fiscal plan into an accessible public communications tool.

To receive the award, Port Townsend’s document had to satisfy rigorous national guidelines scored by independent peer reviewers.

According to a Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) document outlining the criteria, a budget must be rated as “Proficient” or “Outstanding” by at least two out of three reviewers across 14 mandatory criteria, with 25 total criteria considered overall to prove the document excels as a policy blueprint, financial plan, operations guide, and public communications device.

When the Port Townsend City Council initially approved the balanced 2026 budget last November, council members noted the quality of the presentation.

At the time, council member Owen Rowe expressed being thrilled with the presentation.

The now-award-winning document details more than $88.6 million in total expenditures, with actual spending projected at $58.56 million and the remainder accounting for internal transfers. It manages an expansive layout that features almost $16.9 million in projected tax revenue, $15.8 million allocated for salaries and benefits for 113.1 full-time-equivalent employees, and $24.57 million capital projects fund — a five-fold increase compared to 2019 — that is heavily driven by state and federal grants.

“We are honored to be the recipients of the 2026 GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award,” Finance Director Jodi Adams said in a news release. “The 2026 budget book is the result of a dedicated team effort to make the City’s financial information more transparent and accessible to the public. Our goal was to create a document that provided residents and councilmembers a clearer understanding of how resources are allocated and how those decisions support City services and priorities.”

Adams recognized the specific contributions of accountant Isaac Johnson and utility billing and collections specialist Katie Kowalski.

“They were instrumental in creating a budget document that better communicates the City’s priorities and financial stewardship which helped us win this award,” Adams said.

Council member Monica MickHager, chair of the council’s Finance and Budget Committee, attributed the milestone to a consistent, multi-year strategy.

“We’ve been on quite a journey these last few years with a smart, consistent, disciplined approach that has grounded our organization — and therefore our community — in stability and strength,” MickHager said. “With another national award for our work, I’m grateful that we’re being recognized.”

The final, peer-reviewed document competed against submissions from more than 1,900 local and state agencies across North America. While the city has a history of clean state audits and prior recognition from the International City Managers Association (ICMA), this marks Port Townsend’s first time winning the GFOA budget presentation award.

To read the Port Townsend budget, visit tinyurl.com/4nzm6kpk.

The city of Sequim also received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the GFOA for its 2026 budget.

Sequim’s award-winning document can be viewed online at sequimwa.gov/1327/2026-Adopted-Budget.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.