Honor is the highest professional recognition in governmental budgeting, county staff says
Sarasota County recently earned the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Florida Association of Counties (FAC) and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the county has announced.
The award, which is the highest professional recognition in governmental budgeting, was presented to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) staff during the May 11 County Commission meeting, a news release notes.
“Our budget process provides the foundation to ensure sound fiscal stewardship and transparency,” said County Administrator Tom Harmer in the release. “It’s an honor to be recognized for our hard work and ongoing commitment to a comprehensive document that meets the highest standards. I also want to recognize the OFM team for its commitment to continued improvement.”
“National recognition is based on how well a budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and a communication device,” the release explains. A budget is rated on 27 specific criteria, the release says. Sarasota County also earned Special Capital Recognition, based on all three reviewers of the document giving it outstanding marks for the criterion relating to capital expenditures and impact of capital investments on the operating budget.
“Our budgeting enables success as an organization by providing sound financial guidance and the development of a budget document that has consistently been recognized by the GFOA,” said OFM Director Kim Radtke in the release.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 18,300 government finance professionals throughout North America, the release notes. “The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting,” the release adds.
To learn more about the budget process for Sarasota County Government, visit www.scgov.net/Finance or call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 861-5000.