The City of La Marque Finance Department earned the 2019 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.
The City of La Marque Finance team earns national recognition and is named Distinguished Budget Presentation Awardee. Pictured from left are Accounting Specialist Sloane Witter, City Accountant Mysty Nauck and Finance Director Suzy Kou. “This is only the beginning.”
City of La Marque Finance Department earned the 2019 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association, a national professional association servicing the needs of more than 19,000 appointed and elected local, state, and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners.
The award represents a significant achievement for the City of La Marque. According to GFOA, recognition reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.
“The Fiscal Year 2019 budget award shows that we are doing a great job of managing tax dollars,” said La Marque City Manager Tink Jackson. “Receiving this award should give everyone from the Finance Department to management, to the City Council, and all of our citizens a feeling of pride. Not many cities receive this award. It designates the City of La Marque as performing at a much higher level than most other cities in the development of solid fiscal policy in the annual budget.”
To receive this budget award, La Marque had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as:
- a policy document
- a financial plan
- an operations guide
- a communications device
La Marque Finance earned outstanding marks in the categories of fund descriptions and fund structure, as well as the department – fund relationship chart. According to Suzy Kou, City of La Marque Finance Director, winning this award was a cooperative effort from every department within the city, including our City Manager and City Council.
“Without participation from our entire team, earning this award would not be possible,” said Kou. “This is only the beginning. We will continue our efforts to earn more outstanding marks in the coming years. We strive for transparency and clarity. Future budget books will have enhancements in the goals and objectives section, performance measurements, capital projects, and perhaps the addition of community maps.”
There are over 1,600 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted on GFOA's website. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America. City of La Marque’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget book is available at budget.cityoflamarque.org.