| The New Hampshire Local Government Center (LGC) has recognized 18 New Hampshire towns and three cities for publication of outstanding annual reports for the 2008 budget year. The 21 municipalities were honored at a November 19 luncheon ceremony held in conjunction with LGC’s 68th Annual Conference at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Manchester, New Hampshire. Some 445 local officials from cities and towns across the state attended the luncheon event.
The Excellence in Annual Report Awards provides recognition for municipalities that have produced exceptional public documents that communicate important financial and statistical information in a clear and understandable way. “We are pleased to recognize these towns and cities for their outstanding accomplishments,” said LGC Interim Executive Director Maura Carroll. “These award-winning publications are examples of how to effectively and creatively communicate important budget and community-related information to citizens. These documents all serve as models for other municipalities to follow.”
Town reports are judged for each of six population categories: less than 750; 751–1,500; 1,501–3,000; 3,001–5,000; 5,001–7,500; and 7,501 and higher. Cities are judged in a separate category. The initial round of judging is based upon the presentation of basic information and statistics; the top ten winners from each category proceed to the second round of judging, which ranks creativity and reader appeal.
The following are the winners of the 2009 Excellence in Annual Report Awards:
Less than 750:
3rd Place, Town of Sugar Hill; 2nd Place, Town of Easton; 1st Place, Town of Shelburne.
751 - 1,500:
3rd Place, Town of Wilmot; 2nd Place, Town of New Castle; 1st Place, Town of Lincoln.
1,501 - 3,000:
3rd Place, Town of Lyndeborough; 2nd Place, Town of New Durham; 1st Place, Town of Sutton.
3,001 - 5,000:
3rd Place, Town of New London; 2nd Place, Town of Enfield; 1st Place, Town of Moultonborough.
5,001 - 7,500:
3rd Place, Town of Belmont; 2nd Place, Town of New Ipswich; 1st Place, Town of Peterborough.
7,501 – Higher:
3rd Place, Town of Londonderry; 2nd Place, Town of Bow; 1st Place, Town of Windham.
Cities:
3rd Place, City of Berlin; 2nd Place, City of Portsmouth; 1st Place, City of Nashua.
LGC’s 68th Annual Conference, themed Local Governments: Rising to the Challenge, was held November 18–20 at the Radisson Hotel Manchester, and was attended by some 690 municipal, school and county officials from around the state. LGC was joined by fourteen affiliate groups in hosting more than 60 sessions and meetings on topics of key importance to local government. The program was organized into seven topic tracks: governance, finance and taxation, health and safety, land use and environment, human resources, schools and technology. Workshop topics ranged from accessing economic stimulus funding sources to understanding recent legislative changes. Additional topics included avoiding payment fraud, managing health care costs and working with the workforce housing statute, plus ethics, charter governments, and the Right to Know Law, among other topics.
The Excellence in Annual Report Awards luncheon was sponsored by Citizens Bank and Ocean Bank, a division of People’s United Bank. In addition to the Excellence in Annual Report Awards event, the conference also featured a Municipal Volunteer of Year awards ceremony honoring three individuals nominated by local communities. For a complete list of conference sessions and events, visit the LGC Annual Conference homepage. |
