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South Valley Riverton Journal

Herriman earns award for financial reporting

Feb 07, 2019 01:43PM ● By Travis Barton

Herriman City received an outstanding achievement award for its financial report. (Pixabay)

By Travis Barton | [email protected]

For the fourth year running, Herriman City received an outstanding achievement award for its financial report. 

The Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) is prepared through the finance and communications department of the city. It takes an approximately 200-page report and boils it down 10–12 pages, making it easier for the public to consume. 

“These are not easy to do,” City Manager Brett Wood told the council during a January city council meeting. “I can’t remember how many cities get these, but it’s pretty rare. Your team here at Herriman City has been knocking it out of the ball park on a pretty regular basis.”

Wood specifically recognized Finance Director Alan Rae and Communications Director Tami Moody for their work in making this happen. 

“I do the black and white stuff, and Tami and her group make it look good,” Rae said. 

The PAFR is examined by a panel of independent reviewers from the Government Finance Officers Association. Reading from a letter sent by the association, Wood said their report “substantially met the requirements of the PAFR program.” 

“We didn’t just make it, we substantially exceeded,” Wood said. “We have a team here that is second to none.” 

Council members were complimentary of the city staff. Councilman Jared Henderson noted the work done by other department heads. These financial reports are crucial for the council. While a budget process takes months to finalize, the council sees the finished the product but maybe not all the work that goes into its creation. 

“What amazes me is it gets better every year,” Henderson said. 

Councilman Clint Smith said it’s one thing for the council to harp on transparency and another for the staff to take that direction and simplify a complicated financial process into something digestible. 

“We’ve all had experiences with multiple organizations and city budgets,” Smith said. “And there is none that hold a candle, in my opinion, to the way that the budget is done here.”