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GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD ~:~r-~~~ 401 Merritt 7, P.O. Box 5116, Norwalk, Connecticut 06856-5116 / 203-847-0700 ext. 20D ` • Fax: 203-849-9714 TOM L. ALLEN Chairman Mazch 3, 2003 Ms. Sue Gehrz, Mayor City of Falcon Heights 2077 W. Larpenteur Avenue Falcon Heights, MN 55113-5594 Dear Mayor Gehrz: We recently received a copy of the City of Falcon Heights comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001. Your city's eazly implementation of GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements-and Management's Discussion and Analysis- for State and Local Governments, is commendable and I want to recognize your efforts. As you know, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) seeks to improve financial reporting in a number of ways. The GASB believes that implementation of Statement 34 results in improvements in reporting cost-of-services information and the overall financial position of the government to taxpayers, governing boards, and other financial statement users. Therefore, we encourage early implementation so that this information will be available to those users on a more timely basis. We are extremely pleased, and impressed, by your city's ability to prepare the new financial statements in such a timely fashion. I was particulazly impressed with the city's reporting of all of its infrastructure well in advance of the required date for reporting existing infrastructure. Your eazly implementation is a tribute to your finance director Roland O.Olson; accounting intern Craig Stier; and your auditors Kern, DeWenter, Viere, Ltd., for their expertise and assistance to the city. I also want to commend you and the city's governing body for supporting the efforts to provide your citizens and other financial statement users with a more comprehensive reporting of the city's financial operations in advance of the effective date of the standazd. It is my hope that these users of your financial statements will recognize your efforts. I am sending a certificate to your finance department to display in recognition of their eazly-implementation efforts. Congratulations for a job well done. Sin ely, ~~~~~ Tom L. Allen • cc: Roland O.Olson Craig Stier Kern, DeWenter, Viere, Ltd. Tla/letters/s34/mn-gehrz-city of falcon heights.doc.