Fillmore has one of the most efficient and financially well-managed city governments of like population in the country, rating high in its successful use of its monetary revenues.
The community is among the top 10 percent of Western cities in its category to get a high performance rating by the Municipal Analysis Services Inc. of Austin, Texas."It came as a complete surprise," said Mayor Keith Gillins. "The most meaningful part to me is that it was not solicited." The mayor said he was not aware of representatives of the analysis firm contacting city employees, concluding the rating was probably the result of figures included in the city's audit. "That's a matter of public record," he said.
Fillmore's 75-point rating substantially exceeded the requirements of the Analysis Service in its evaluation that qualified the city for the rating. The minimum requirement is 61 points.
A dozen Utah municipalities and counties were rated, two others exceeding the requirement for high point recognition. Nephi was rated at 67 and Provo City at 62.
Others and their point ratings were Ephraim, 60; Spanish Fork, 59; Mapleton, 58; Sanpete County and Delta City, 55; Payson 52; Juab County 50; Springville, 44; and Utah County, 35.
The study of nearly 9,000 cities and counties was completed last year, but cities selected for the honor were only recently announced. Less than 1,000 governments qualified for the high performance rating, corporation officials noted.
"We did this study to find cities and counties that use their financial resources more than others," said Greg Michels, corporation president. "The result is an objective set of governments that are financially fair while being financially stable.
Michels concluded, "Fillmore City managers are doing one of the best jobs with the resources they have."
The mayor attributed the city's success in using its financial resources to the City Council and city employees, specifically citing city recorder Marlene Cummings, who directs Fillmore's finance program.
Analysis Service said, "A high-performance government is a stable and efficient one due to diversified revenues, high employee productivity, controlled expenses, careful use of outside aid, reasonable revenue levels and using and controlling debt."