Office of Financial Management honored by Government Finance Officers Association
Sarasota County staff has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award once again from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), in recognition of efforts related to the Fiscal Year 2021 budget presentation, the county has announced.
This is the 31st consecutive year that the county has received what staff points out is a prestigious award. Additionally, for the second time, staff won Special Performance Measure Recognition from the GFOA, and, for the first time, it received what is called the Triple Crown Medallion, a news release points out.
“The Distinguished Budget Presentation Award exemplifies the Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting and being responsible stewards of public funds,” the release explains.
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis noted in the release that the county’s budget plan “is an essential public financial management tool that provides a road map for funding board priorities and meets community needs through available funding.” This award reflects the commitment of county staff and the County Commission to meet and exceed the highest principles of governmental budgeting, he added in the release.
“It’s a testament of the county’s dedication to providing outstanding customer service, fiscal responsibility, and serving as responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Lewis said.
“To earn the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, an organization must satisfy 27 nationally recognized criteria for effective budget presentations that address the budget priorities as a financial plan, operations guide, and communications device,” the release explains.
“To receive the Special Performance Measure recognition, the budget document had to receive ‘outstanding’ ratings” from all the reviewers in regard to “objective measures of progress toward accomplishing the government’s mission as well as goals and objectives for specific units and programs,” the release notes.
The Triple Crown Medallion is earned by achieving all three GFOA awards: the Certification Achievement for Excellence in Financial reporting, the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the release adds.
More than 1,600 organizations applied for the budget award, OFM Director Kim Radtke noted in the release. “This is an incredible achievement, and I’m honored to share in this success with a team of professionals that is truly committed to prudent financial planning and reporting,” she added in the release.
“The GFOA serves more than 20,500 government finance professionals throughout North America and Canada and is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting,” the release says.