By rdnewsNOW Staff

Financial Reporting Applauded

Red Deer County receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for 2021

Oct 7, 2021 | 3:50 PM

Red Deer County has been recognized with a prestigious award for its transparent financial reporting and budget presentation.

Red Deer County has once again been named the recipient of the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for their 2021-2023 budget document.

Officials say the document lays out all Capital and Operating expenditures for the County, and details how tax dollars are used to provide services for ratepayers. The document contains both detailed and summary breakdowns of funding sources, policies, and highlights County finance over a multi-year timeline.

This marks the sixth consecutive year that Red Deer County has received the GFOA budget award. The Association is based in Chicago, Illinois, and is the chief body for over 18,000 elected local, state, and provincial-level government finance officials.

Before a municipality can receive the award, a copy of their budget document must be sent to the Association, where it undergoes a series of reviews by practicing experts in the field of Government finance.

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According to the Association, “The award represents a significant achievement by the organization. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the organization has to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.”

Heather Surkan, Corporate Services Director for Red Deer County remarked in a press release that, “Receiving this award for the sixth consecutive year demonstrates that Red Deer County takes transparent reporting of our finances very seriously. The County has tremendous staff in place who are dedicated to ensuring ratepayers get a thorough and understandable look at our budget and budgeting process.”

The 2021-2023 budget document can be found at http://www.rdcounty.ca/168/Budget-Finance.