Chester County’s fiscal responsibility has been recognized with the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fiscal year beginning 2015, making it one of the only three counties in Pennsylvania to receive the award, and the only county in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada established the award in 1984 and presents it to government organizations that have “pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.”
Documents submitted by the participating counties to the Budget Awards Program are reviewed by selected members of the professional staff from the GFOA as well as by outside reviewers with experience in public-sector budgeting. In order to receive the GFOA award, Chester County needed to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.
Chester County Chief Operating Officer, Mark Rupsis, expressed his pleasure at receiving the award by saying that “Chester County produces a budget document that explains how every single dollar that the county receives is spent to support the services and programs that our residents need. The budget document should serve as an operations guide, a financial plan and a communications guide, and I thank the commissioners for their support and our finance team for their efforts to create a budget document that ensures we remain transparent and accountable, and that is worthy of GFOA recognition.”
Julie Bookheimer, Chester County Director of Finance also commented on the award, saying that it is “rewarding to see the dedication and hard work of the Finance staff recognized by the GFOA. But this award would not have been possible without the Commissioners’ continued commitment.”
The award announcement was presented to the Chester County officials in a letter which stated that “the award represents a significant achievement. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of government budgeting.”
