Monday, August 6th, 2012 at 11:07 am
Rocky Mount (August 2, 2012) --- Franklin County has been awarded a Virginia Association of Counties 2012 Achievement Award. This award recognizes the very best of model local government programs among Virginia’s ninety-five counties. Franklin County won the communications category “Transparency for a Citizen’s Dollar” for its interactive budget website portal.
In recognizing Franklin County, VACo officials stated “The County of Franklin identified an opportunity for its citizens to become a crucial part of the budget process by providing them with a free interactive budget website. This website empowered every interested citizen with the very same documents and data that the Board of Supervisors would use during the budget process."
“It always amazes me the level of competition for Achievement Awards,” said James Campbell, VACo executive director. “This year is no exception. Competition is fierce."
While the County has long posted its budgets and financial reports online, the new budget portal synchronizes multiple budget items into one central location. The budget site provides informational topics designed for navigational ease including:
- Description guide to the budget process
- Calendar of budget meetings and work sessions
- Previous and current year budgets
- County financial health information
- Factors affecting current and future budgets
- Comparison budget and tax information from adjoining localities
- Citizen input module for residents wishing to give budget feedback and suggestions
In addition to the site’s comprehensive budget information and navigational ease, the site further allows residents to stay connected with their County budget through social media avenues like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. “Franklin County recognizes that citizens expect both transparency and connectivity in their daily activities. The local government budget is not excluded from this expectation,” stated Richard E. Huff, II, County Administrator.
The VACo Achievement Awards is a competitive program open to local government members of the association. For more information, visit VACo’s Achievement Awards website where you can view all 2012 entries.
Franklin County will receive a certificate at an official ceremony during VACo’s 2012 Annual Conference in November. Also, VACo will present the award at a future Board of Supervisors meeting. VACo exists to support county officials and to effectively represent, promote and protect the interests of counties to better serve the people of Virginia.
