UPDATE: Kane County Is First-Time Recipient of the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has presented a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to Kane County for its annual budget for the fiscal year beginning Dec. 1, 2015.
On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, Kane County Assistant Finance Director Erica Waggoner received the award from Rita Kruse of the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association. Waggoner was accompanied by Kane County Finance Director Joe Onzick and Kane County Finance Committee Chairman John J. Hoscheit.
Onzick said the award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting.
In order to receive this award, a governmental unit must publish a budget document that meets rigorous program criteria as a policy document, as an operations guide, as a financial plan, and as a communication device.
The Kane County Finance Department began the process of updating the presentation of the budget in 2009. Finance staff researched how the county’s budget document could be updated to more clearly reflect not only the financial data, but also how each department/office used its appropriated budget. Since 2009, various upgrades have been added to the document.
In preparation for the 2016 budget process, and under the leadership of Assistant Finance Director Erica Waggoner, staff did another in-depth review in the hope of making further major improvements. This time around, with the many updates that were added, the Finance Department felt it was time to submit the document to the GFOA for consideration.
Joe Onzick
In May, the Finance Department received word that the document had indeed received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The GFOA established the Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program (Budget Awards Program) in 1984 to encourage and assist state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s best practices on budgeting.
The Finance Department will continue to look for ways to improve the document, and plans to apply for the award in future years, Onzick said.
SOURCE: Kane County Finance Department
