SPRINGFIELD – This fall, Willamalane Park and Recreation District was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its strong stewardship of local tax dollars, according to the district.
GFOA offers several award programs that recognize excellence in government finance. This year, Willamalane received two national awards from the organization.
“While these awards are common, they definitely do underscore the district’s strong stewardship of local tax dollars,” Whitney Hoshaw, marketing and communications manager for Willamalane, said. “There are rigorous metrics that your reporting needs to meet to determine that we’ve met these high standards of the program, demonstrating full disclosure and clear communication of our financial picture,” she said.
The District received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its FY24 financial report at the end of September this year. According to GFOA, the award recognized Willamalane’s transparency and full disclosure in its budgeting process, and its ability to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles.
Hoshaw explained the award as, “preparing that (FY24 financial) report as a public report where, this is what we said we were going to do, this is what we did, this is how it all looks, and just making sure that we’re being that strong steward of local tax dollars and telling that story really, really clearly for our community,” she said.
The District also received a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in early November for its FY26 budget. This award recognized Willamalane’s preparation of budget documents in the “very highest quality” that go above and beyond guidelines established by GFOA and the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting.
Willamalane received both of these awards in August and October last year.
