Bill Text: VA HR145 | 2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Patsy J. Brown.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-03 - Bill text as passed House (HR145ER) [HR145 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HR145-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Patsy J. Brown retired on January 1, 2020, after providing more than 33 years of dedicated and faithful service to Chesterfield County; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown began her career in local government with Chesterfield County as an assistant director of accounting in 1986, serving in that capacity for more than 23 years; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown provided oversight and leadership for general accounting, accounts payable, financial systems, and payroll, while ensuring proper internal controls were in place to safeguard county assets; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown led the implementation of accounts payable, purchasing, and budgetary control modules of the county's and school system's integrated financial system in 1989 and coordinated the upgrade of the payroll system to ensure it was Y2K compliant; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown was responsible for numerous process improvements that enhanced services to customers through automation, including the implementation of a fixed asset barcoding inventory system and automated cash receipts system; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown contributed to the success of the county's Total Quality Improvement (TQI) initiative as one of the first TQI facilitators and trainers and helped implement TQI principles within the Accounting Department; she has the distinction of being the first Accounting Department employee to graduate from TQI University; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown was the project manager for the InFocus system implementation project, one of the county's largest technology undertakings, which replaced multiple stand-alone financial systems into an integrated system, providing many benefits to the county and school organizations, and which was implemented seamlessly while providing continuity of business processes and financial reporting; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown directed the change management effort for the InFocus project for the county and local schools, a critical factor identified for project success, balancing the recommendations of vendors and best practices with the unique cultures and needs of the county and separate school organizations; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown was selected by her colleagues as the Accounting Department's Employee of the Year in 1989 and 2003; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown became the director of accounting in 2010 and served in that capacity for almost 10 years, dedicating herself to ensuring the fiscal integrity of the financial records of the county, bringing a high level of professionalism to the department and contributing to the county receiving and maintaining a AAA credit rating; and
WHEREAS, as director of accounting, Patsy Brown was responsible for maintaining policies and procedures with strong internal controls; ensuring county compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board pronouncements, and state and federal requirements, including the implementation of more than 85 GASB standards; and leading a major reporting model change that impacted both the county and school organizations; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown was responsible for oversight of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Chesterfield County, which received the Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers' Association (GFOA) for all the years it was under her direction; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown actively participated on numerous boards and committees during her tenure with the county and was appointed by the National Association of Counties to serve as a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown maintained her Certified Professional Accountant license throughout her tenure and earned the designation of Certified Public Finance Officer by demonstrating her knowledge and competency in the disciplines of government finance to the GFOA; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown supported the implementation of very successful Procurement Card and ePayables programs that have not only improved efficiency but generated more than $2.5 million in revenue since the inception of the programs; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown set a high standard of ethical behavior and leadership; her strong commitment to customer service is evidenced by scores from an annual customer satisfaction survey, averaging 8.98 out of 10 from 2011 through 2019; and
WHEREAS, Patsy Brown will be missed for her professional contributions, her dedicated service, her leadership, her technology skills, her caring nature, and her commitment to providing the highest possible level of service to those served by the Accounting Department; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Patsy J. Brown hereby be commended on the occasion of her retirement from the Chesterfield County Accounting Department; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Patsy J. Brown as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for her contributions to the Chesterfield County community.
