Distinction accorded after thorough review of specific areas of competency
Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates once again has earned the Legacy Award, a special designation for excellence in the field of financial operations, the Florida Tax Collectors Association has announced.
The process that leads to the recognition “is rigorous,” a news release explains. It includes a panel’s “comprehensive review of the financial functions of the Tax Collector’s Office,” the release adds.
“The Legacy Award is one of the most significant honors the Florida Tax Collectors Association awards a local tax collector,” association President Sharon Jordan of Suwannee County said in the release.
The five-person panel, which comprises governmental financial executives from across the state, reviewed the following Sarasota County Tax Collector’s Office’s to ascertain the level of competency, the release continues:
- Innovation and automation.
- Achieving a perfect annual audit report.
- Customer focus.
- Budgeting.
Ford-Coates “has consistently earned the Excellence in Financial Operations Award after exhibiting proficiency in these four areas of expertise,” the release notes. “However, for the 2017 Legacy Award, Mrs. Ford-Coates demonstrated that her office had even further enhanced its financial operations,” the release adds.
“Mrs. Ford-Coates’ methods for delivering service to the people she serves and consideration of the technological innovations she has developed and put into place were also analyzed,” Jordan said in the release.