PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray
Hanania
June 27, 2012 rayhanania / comcast.net
OFPD Finance office recognized for financial practices
OFPD, Orland Park, IL., – The nation’s most important
financial services association awarded the Orland Fire Protection District and
Financial Officer Kerry Sullivan a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in
Financial Reporting.
Auditors with Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador & co. Ltd.,
of Orland Park, also presented the formal audit of the 2011 budget to the
board. The audit shows the district spent $240,000 less than it collected in
revenues that year.
“I think we have had a good year when it comes to paying
attention to the concerns of the taxpayers of the Orland Fire Protection
District,” said OFPD Board President Jim Hickey.
“We are also very proud of the achievements and hard work of
our Finance Director Kerry Sullivan who has done so much to help us manage the
budget and also find ways to reduce spending.”
Hickey noted the board this year held the line on the
budget, preventing it from increasing by more than $1.6 million, while also
reducing planned spending this year by more than $1 million.
“In the end, taxpayers will have saved almost $3 million in
our budget this year and last year. This is the first year in five years that our
budget is under $30 million and that is significant,” Hickey said.
Fire Chief Ken Brucki also praised Sullivan, noting, "Kerry is a very valuable employee demonstrating a level of professionalism I have observed District wide from our employees. She has managed a very professional business model that has been adapted to the operations of a fire district. I congratulate her and all our staff on a job well done."
Fire Chief Ken Brucki also praised Sullivan, noting, "Kerry is a very valuable employee demonstrating a level of professionalism I have observed District wide from our employees. She has managed a very professional business model that has been adapted to the operations of a fire district. I congratulate her and all our staff on a job well done."
The award recognition by the Government Finance Officers
Association (GFOA) is the third
consecutive annual citation that the OFPD and Sullivan has received.
“I know that I speak for the entire board and fire district
when I congratulate Kerry Sullivan for her work,” said Trustee Marty McGill.
“I too want to express my gratitude for the professionalism and
hard work that Kerry Sullivan has put in to this process,” said Trustee Chris
Evoy. “We worked very hard to reduce spending and she has proven
to be an invaluable asset to our district.”
Sullivan said that the audit shows that the
budget for 2011 ended with a surplus of $240,000.
“We ended the year with a $240,000 positive
balance between revenues and expenditures and in today’s economy, that is very
significant,” Sullivan said.
The audit shows that the district spent about
$2.6 million more than what was budget, she explained, but said that it
included $3 million that was collected in 2007 and spend on the completion of
the Fire District’s new administration building.
“Essentially, we had the $3 million in the bank
to pay for the completion but it is factored into the audit. If you exclude that
money, which we already collected, then you see that revenues exceeded
expenditures by $240,000,” Kerry explained.
The Administration building, 9790 W. 151st
Street, was formally completed and officially opened in 2011.
In presenting the audit to the board, the
auditors also noted that the Orland Fire Protection District pension fund is 76
percent funded. A government mandate requires that the pension fund by 90
percent funded by the year 2040.
The award is one of the highest forms of
recognition a governmental body can receive in the area of accounting and
financial reporting. The District’s
Finance Director Kerry Sullivan will receive the plaque which is expected to
arrive in approximately eight weeks. At
that time, the Board of Trustees will make a formal presentation to Ms.
Sullivan.
Sullivan has been with the district since 1997
serving as Finance Director. Prior to that she worked at McNeal Hospital as a
budget manager, and previously worked as KPMG, a national accounting firm.
Sullivan lives in Orland Park with her two sons,
Billy, 15, and Jack, 11.
For more information, please visit our website
at www.orlandfire.org.
The 2011 OFPD Audit will also be placed online
for public review.
# # #
