Gloucester’s finance department was notified recently that it had received "The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting" for the 16th consecutive year.

The award, given annually by the Government Finance Officers Association, was presented in front of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors during its Sept. 4 meeting in the colonial courthouse.

In order to earn a certificate of achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. The report must be presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by a firm of licensed certified public accountants.

"I feel like I have to give a lot of special thanks for this," said Nickie Champion, Gloucester’s director of financial services. "This is not the product of one particular person."

The award would not have been possible without the eff...