Town of Milton, New York
A New York Town Uses Digital Budget Book to Win a GFOA Award

Milton

GFOA Award Winner

Location

New York

Local population

4,353 (2023)

ClearGov solution

Digital Budget Book

Primary Objective

Modernizing the Budget for Greater Transparency

David Braymer, Comptroller for the Town of Milton, NY, recounted how ClearGov helped Milton win their first-ever GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award using Digital Budget Book.

I received a demonstration of [ClearGov’s] Digital Budget Book software… I was stunned to see budget examples presented in such an innovative format. I immediately began to imagine what our budget could become if transformed into a digital information hub with attachments, resource links, narratives, and interactive charts, graphs and tables.
David Braymer, Comptroller, Town of Milton

Challenge

Presenting the Budget in an Innovative, Intuitive Format

Braymer first connected with ClearGov at the NYAOT Annual Meeting & Training School. He received a demo of ClearGov Digital Budget Book and knew right away that Digital Budget Book could help him present the town’s budget in a more innovative and intuitive format.

Solution

Implementing Digital Budget Book for Transparency

The board agreed with Braymer that adopting Digital Budget Book could enhance the town’s transparency, modernize their budget, and build public trust. Milton adopted Digital Budget Book shortly thereafter, as town staff started developing their budget for the next fiscal year.

I presented an overview of that [Digital Budget Book] demonstration to the town board, which agreed that this budgeting platform could become a powerful tool for transparency, modernization, and building public trust.

Results

Achieving Award Recognition and Enhancing Public Trust

The town won the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which Braymer called “a proud moment.”
Milton’s GFOA award was deemed “a symbol of professionalism and good governance.”
Braymer incorporated detailed narratives into the town’s Digital Budget Book to give background information on the numbers.
The Digital Budget Book “introduced exciting improvements in accessibility and visual appeal.”

While he didn’t apply for a GFOA award then, Braymer reflected, “developing that first Digital Budget Book… was a significant step forward.” After developing and publishing the town’s first Digital Budget Book, a Talk of the Towns & Topics article inspired Braymer to apply for GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. With the rest of his team onboard, Braymer set out to create an award-winning budget book.

Our budget — the most important document we produce — now serves as a comprehensive guide that clearly communicates how we plan, what we prioritize, and where we’re headed. It tells the story of our community not just in dollars, but in vision, values, and purpose.