REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (December 13, 2021) – Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) presented Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) a Transparency Certificate of Excellence in recognition of its outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance.
To receive the award, BCHD demonstrated the completion of essential transparency requirements, including conducting ethics training for all its board members, properly conducting open and public meetings, and filing financial transactions and compensation reports to the State Controller in a timely manner.
“Our team strives to be fully open and accessible to the public and community stakeholders,” said Tom Bakaly, CEO for Beach Cities Health District. “I accept this recognition on behalf of our staff and Board as they’ve consistently worked to ensure our information is readily available to our community so that members of the public can participate in our decision-making process. I believe our Healthy Living Campus Project exemplifies this — the project is a direct reflection of community discourse beginning in 2017, with design and planning documents revised in response to public input.”
The SDLF honor is the latest in a string of awards presented to BCHD, which was recently named 2021 “District of the Year” by the Association of California Healthcare Districts.
“The SDLF District Transparency Certificate of Excellence requires that certain operational, governance, and best practice requirements be met to showcase the district’s efforts to be transparent and engage the public,” said SDLF CEO Neil McCormick. “By earning this recognition, Beach Cities Health District has demonstrated their commitment to transparency as they work to deliver essential services to their constituents.”
Earlier this year, the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada presented BCHD with a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. GFOA also awarded BCHD the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award with a Special Performance Measures Recognition.
The California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) also presented BCHD with an Excellence Award for its 2020-21 operating budget. BCHD is the only healthcare district to meet the CSMFO standards of excellence and has received 16 CSMFO Excellence or Meritorious Awards since the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
BCHD’s budgetary practices and information on its public meetings are available online. The budget is reviewed by the District’s resident advisory Finance Committee and discussed at public board meetings. An annual report and direct mailers are also sent via U.S. mail to Beach Cities households each year.
For more information about BCHD’s public meetings, please visit bchd.org/board-directors-meetings.
About Beach Cities Health District
Beach Cities Health District (BCHD), the 2021 Association of California Healthcare Districts’ “District of the Year,” is a healthcare district focused on preventive health and serves the communities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach. Established in 1955 as a public agency, it offers an extensive range of dynamic health and wellness programs, with innovative services and facilities to promote health and prevent diseases across the lifespan. BCHD also operates AdventurePlex, a health and fitness facility where kids play their way to good health, and the Center for Health & Fitness, a comprehensive fitness center that is the only Medical Fitness Association-certified facility in California. Visit www.bchd.org or call (310) 374-3426 for more information.
About Special District Leadership Foundation
Special District Leadership Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization formed to promote good governance and best practices among California’s special districts through certification, accreditation, and other recognition programs.
Special districts are independent public agencies that deliver core local services to communities, such as water, wastewater treatment, fire protection, parks and recreation, healthcare, sanitation, mosquito abatement, ports, libraries, public cemeteries and more. Districts are established by voters and their funding is approved by voters to meet specific needs through focused service. They can be specially molded to serve large regions or small neighborhoods depending on the need.
