Confusion Cleared Up: Burr Ridge Took Triple Crown

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge met the requirements to earn the Triple Crown in budget awards for 2022, a trade association said Friday.

Earlier this week, the village issued a news release announcing it had won the honor from the Chicago-based Government Finance Officers Association. But it said the awards were for 2023, instead of 2022. The village said Friday it should have said 2022.

This week, some commentary emerged on social media accusing the village of lying.

In an interview Friday, Diane Griffin, the association's assistant director for awards programs, said her group hasn't even started the process for 2023. It is wrapping up the reviews for 2022, she said.

The village has met the requirements for 2022 for the Triple Crown. But she said her group hasn't released the list of such winners because it has yet to complete all the reviews.

The village's three awards for 2022 are the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award.

According to the village's news release, only 23 towns of the 1,300 municipalities in Illinois received the Triple Crown.

"The recognition is a testament to the collective efforts of our Finance Department staff and the Board's dedication to providing accurate and understandable financial information to our community," the release said.

In an email to Patch, Village Administrator Evan Walter said, "We were told our financial documents for the 'previous year' met the standards for receipt of the Triple Crown award with GFOA. To the Village, that meant FY2023, which was indeed our previous fiscal year, but we did not clarify that meant 2022 for GFOA’s purposes. It is nothing more than a misunderstanding of applicable dates."