The City of St. Albert is requesting an extension to the May 1 deadline to file last year's financial statements and annual report with the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs, council learned on Tuesday.
The city's annual report, as explained by city financial manager Brenda Barclay in a brief report to council, “provides progress updates on Council’s Strategic Plan, financials and key performance indicators to support transparency to the community through regular reporting of the City's achievements.” Municipalities throughout Alberta are required under the Municipal Government Act to submit these reports to the provincial government, as well as publish them online for the public to see.
City spokesperson Cory Sinclair said in an email that an extension to the submission deadline was deemed necessary after the city's auditor, KPMG, “highlighted a required change to our annual financial statements” late in the audit process.
Sinclair didn't say what the required change entailed, but added that city executives agreed with the auditors, and are now working on gathering the required data to make change.
“Due to the late identification and the nature of the work required, more time is needed,” Sinclair said. “Staff capacity is not an issue in the request for an extension.”
He also said that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs has a “defined set of criteria” when it comes to municipalities applying for extended deadlines, which the city believes it meets.
“If approved by Municipal Affairs, the deadline will be delayed to June 30,” Sinclair said, adding that the city has never had to apply for an extension before.
Ministry press secretary Justin Brattinga did not respond to the Gazette's request for comment prior to publication deadline.
