Important Facts about Washington’s Budget & Financial Management

Washington's a National Leader in Management Excellence

Washington State again is ranked tops in the nation in management of state government. Washington tied with two other states receiving the highest overall grade for management - an A minus - from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and Governing magazine. Two years ago - the last time the government-performance project rated state governments - Washington was among four states receiving the highest grade.

Washington won praise on many fronts:

  • The state's financial management "continues to be excellent, with top-notch financial reporting and good investment practices."
  • Washington earned its highest score in the field of information technology, scoring a very rare A grade.
  • Washington's 10-year capital-improvement plan was credited with being "one of the most far-reaching documents of its kind."

Every year since 1987, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Washington State for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The Certificate of Achievement is a prestigious national award recognizing conformance with the highest standards for preparation of state and local government financial reports.

Washington Continues to be a Leader in Digital Government

Washington was the first state to bill and to receive payments over the Internet -- and the first to enable businesses to compute, file and pay taxes over the Internet.

For the past three consecutive years, Washington has been selected for the nation's Digital State Award by the Center for Digital Government, Government Technology magazine, and the Progress and Freedom Foundation in the Digital State survey.

Helping Every Citizen

Washington's WorkFirst performance program received the "Architect of Change Award" for innovation in customer service. The National Customer Service Awards Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies. The award was presented at the conference's annual meeting in Salt Lake City in September 2000.

As a result of Washington's WorkFirst performance initiative, the number of families on welfare in the state has dropped by almost 50 percent since January 1997. The percentage of the state's population receiving welfare is down to its lowest comparable level in nearly 30 years.

In 1999, the Washington State Department of Health received an award for "significant achievement and innovation in state and local government" from the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers University. The award was for an electronic communication network for sharing public health information among local and state health officials. The state saves about $1.5 million a year in system maintenance because local health staffs have been trained to maintain the system.

Smaller, More Efficient State Government

State efficiency efforts and other measures have reduced the size of state government in Washington as a proportion of the state economy. Since 1995, state General Fund expenditures as a percent of total state personal income has declined from 6.8 percent to 5.7 percent.

Since 1997, Washington state agencies and their partners have implemented efficiency measures that increased state revenue or created state savings of $142.2 million - which is equivalent to:

  • The combined salaries of 3,000 new teachers for one year, or . . .
  • Providing in-home services to 16,000 senior citizens for one year, or . . .
  • Immunizing each child born in Washington for eight years (based on an estimate of 100,000 births per year).

In 2000, Washington again received an "A" grade in a national report card on economic development and a place on the honor roll of the states with the highest performance. The grade was issued by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED) and the Center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University. Washington was one of 9 states to be placed on the honor roll.

OFM's Role as a Source of Credible Information and Accountability

OFM plans, analyzes and implements the state budget in collaboration with state agencies and institutions, and sets state accounting regulations and procedures for agencies and institutions.

OFM collects and manages the most comprehensive source of demographic and financial data about Washington State.

In an independent customer satisfaction survey conducted for OFM by the Gilmore Research Group, 79% percent of customers gave OFM a high rating for integrity of its information.