The award is for the budget starting on Oct. 1, 2024.
The gist
This is the 33rd consecutive year that Flower Mound has earned the award, and the first time receiving the award for a digital budget book. Since 1984, the Government Finance Officers Association has offered the award as an incentive for local governments to make financial information easily accessible, according to the organization’s website.
“Even though we have received the award 33 years in a row, this one was special,” Flower Mound Chief Financial Officer John Zagurski said in an email. “We departed from our standard format of our PDF-centric document and rolled out the town’s first digital budget book.”
Some context
To qualify, governments must include clear and descriptive budget graphics and an explanation of each funding source, among other criteria, according to the organization’s website.
Flower Mound also earned the award for a digital budget book for making the town’s budget especially intuitive on digital devices, according to the news release. The town used Clear Gov, a budgetary tracking and presentation service used by several local governments and school districts, per the news release. This is the first time Flower Mound hosted their budget on Clear Gov, Zagurski said.
Quote of note
“I want to recognize the work of our Director of Budget Services, Meg Jakubik, who pioneered the digital budget book in Texas,” Zagurski said. “The results are increased transparency through accessibility, engaging format and a visually appealing presentation.”
