The City of Gainesville was recognized by the Texas State Comptroller for transparency with finances, earning the city the Trailblazer award.
Gainesville and McKinney were the first cities to receive all six transparency stars on the same day.
“That's really cool, being the first in a state of this size, especially looking at our population and the size of our staff,” said City Manager Barry Sullivan. “We’re able to put the people first and put the people’s money first and let them know we’re taking care of their finances, because everything we have, we’re just judiciaries taking care of the community’s money.”
Only nine cities in the state received the Trailblazer award.
“It was an interdepartmental effort, no question. Open records and Financial transparency go hand-in-hand as far as we are concerned,” said Communication and Outreach Director Paulina Schutt-Swiatkowski. “The Texas Comptroller recognizing Gainesville as one of only nine cities in the state to achieve Transparency Trailblazer status is further evidence of the city's internal culture of going the extra mile for our community.“
While the initial award was presented at a state ceremony, it aligned with a city council meeting, preventing much of the team from attending. However, Sullivan was able to present the award again to the staff that made it possible at Tuesday evening’s city council meeting.