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February 5, 2008

CATAWBA COUNTY BUDGET OFFICE WINS 19TH STRAIGHT NATIONAL AWARD

Left to right: Budget Analyst Jennifer Mace, Budget Manager Judy Ikerd, Budget Analyst Katrina Hawkins

For the nineteenth straight year, Catawba County’s Budget Office has been recognized by its peers for producing a budget document which is easy to read and understand. The County Budget Office has won the 2007 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Budget Manager Judy Ikerd and Budget Analysts Jennifer Mace and Katrina Hawkins were presented with the honor at the February 4, 2008 meeting of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners. The photo at right shows, left to right: Jennifer Mace, Judy Ikerd, and Katrina Hawkins.

"I am pleased to notify you that the County of Catawba has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award," GFOA Executive Director Jeffrey L. Esser said in a letter to the County. "This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting and represents a significant achievement by your organization."

The award is presented to governmental units which, according to the GFOA, "reflect the commitment of the governing body and staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting." In order to receive the award, Catawba County’s Budget Office had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well a government's budget serves as:

• a policy document
• a financial plan
• an operations guide
• a communications device

Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four of these categories to receive the award.

“Catawba County was one of the first in the state to apply for and receive this award nineteen years ago,” Ikerd said. “That was my first year as Budget Manager and since then receiving this award has become an expectation, but not something we take for granted. Each year, the GFOA’s award review committee makes recommendations for improvements to our document so we must weigh these recommendations against our goal of providing useful information for the general public that is easily understood. It’s an ongoing process of constant change and improvement.”

Catawba County's annual budget is created through a year-long planning process involving department heads, the Budget Staff, County Manager Tom Lundy and the Board of Commissioners.

The Government Finance Officers Association is a non-profit professional association serving
more than 17,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. Since the inception of the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in 1984, more than 900 governments across the United States have received the honor, but fewer than 3% have won the award for nineteen or more years in a row.

For more information on the Catawba County Budget Office, process or the GFOA Award, you may call the County's Budget Office at 828-465-8498.

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